MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS Correspondents Konstantin Malykh, Maria Kartuz/. The Arctic Biennale art and scientific got to the Spitsbergen Archipelago onboard the Professor Molchanov scientific-research vessel. Despite the alarming situation around Norway's arrest of the ship, over a week on the archipelago, participants in the project, organized by Alexander Ponomarev's Free Elements Arts Center, were working on all the planned installations. This material by TASS is about what the artists left in Barentsburg and with what they were leaving the archipelago.

This story has no global analogues yet. Never before have artists, scientists, philosophers, and public figures embarked on a journey to explore the Arctic waters. The project's geography fascinates imagination with its high latitudes locations - Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, and the North Pole - these are just some points on the map that the biennale has planned.

"One of our mottos is "Mobile Within Mobile," because this is movement, process, action...," the expedition's leader, artist Alexander Ponomarev said.

Traveling to the Arctic

The traveling began early in the morning in Moscow, when the expedition participants got onto a big bus and departed for Murmansk. The trip was two days with an overnight accommodation in Petrozavodsk. The artists did not waste time and made quick sketches during short stops. Styles differ: while Katya Sergeeva was drawing with almost photographic precision, Karina Batrachenko used lines and geometric shapes.

The Professor Molchanov departed on the expedition from Murmansk at night. The voyage was due to be about three days long. The passengers quickly coped with the rolling (got "rolled up," as sailors say), and the expedition work continued. Oceanographers Sergey Pisarev and Alexey Sokov told everyone about the seas they are passing, explained why water in those sees did not freeze up, and shared curious and smart stories. Artists Marina Belova and Alexei Politov were particularly impressed by a story about the experiment to relocate penguins to the Far North. They call themselves "penguins of the world" and were taking to Spitsbergen a light installation dedicated to these symbols of the Antarctica. It was to be installed in the Barentsburg Museum (the center of Russia's presence in Spitsbergen), and, artists hoped, it would correct the unfair situation that their beloved pets were not represented in the Arctic.

The Prowling Art Group, having received the captain's permission, was installing a big dark figure on the forecastle (the front of the ship) - that was a visual part of their Pilot project, which was to be installed on the shore later on. According to Daria Dogaeva, their pilot could find ways when all regular landmarks cannot be seen. However, the Professor Molchanov's crew did not need help - after three and a half days of travel, the ship docked at Spitsbergen.

Arts shore

It took about three to four days to install most of the objects. The archipelago has many restrictions due to the fragile Arctic environment: whatever temporary objects further on must disappear without a trace, and whatever remaining installations must fit seamlessly the laconic architecture and strict regulations. One of such objects was the Arrow of Time by architect Totan Kuzembaev at Cape Heer. The object, which is based on a crane boom and coils from cables, is about time, memory, the Arctic's industrial development and present.

The Doomsday Light Storage Facility will remain in the Barentsburg coal mine. The installation by Vladimir Nasedkin and Tatiana Badanina consists of two parts: the first part is two four-meter-high snow-white figures on a mountain that "collect" light. The second part is five massive sarcophagi, where the collected light is "stored". The authors explained: it's not about just the lighting, it is about the light, love and warmth that are inside every person - if suddenly they disappear off the face of the Earth, their supply for new generations will remain available underground.

Marina Rin, the biennale curator, installed a "stone" whale on debris of the old whaling yard at Cape Finneset. According to her, this is a topo-myth - a legend predicting the Arctic Biennale: "The whale's shape is that of an ancient rock, on which all our projects are drawn in petroglyphs," Marina explained.

Giant flags are fluttering on that cape. This is Alexander Ponomarev's Telegraph of Momentary Joy. It is installed on the communications tower's remaining fragments. The colored flags resemble polar poppies, as they are turning the radio station debris into a live communication line between land and sea, into flashes of light in the coming polar night.

The Observatory is another "communication point" for the biennale term. This is a pavilion assembled on the shore from a huge old fuel barrel and road concrete slabs, where the roof is an openwork structure resembling the famous Shukhov Tower. Over the expedition, it was an exhibition space, and later on it will become an observation deck for Barentsburg's residents and visitors.

Artist Katerina Kovaleva found herself into a difficult situation. Her project - The Camp of Lost Expeditions - was planned for the abandoned village of Piramida. There is no road to there, and the only way to get to the village is by water from Barentsburg, while the arrested Professor Molchanov was still chained to the dock. However, Spitsbergen is a special territory. The locals say, wishes made here do come true. So, here is Katerina uploading the installation into a helicopter, heading for the old village. On the return flight, she brought photos and impressions.

"In an abandoned dining room in Piramida now there is a Camp of Lost Expeditions. I have fixed a parachute under the ceiling. On it there are three schooners of the Brusilov, Sedov and Rusanov expeditions. Their fate was tragic. Under the dome, I laid a table for 40 people: metal bowls, glasses covered with granite "bread". The table is ready, but no one will sit at it," the artist said.

Interestingly, it was thanks to Katerina that Otto Schmidt's personal belongings were brought to Spitsbergen for the first time. The artist has received them from the famous polar explorer's great-grandchildren. "Unfortunately," she said, "I couldn't bring many more, and some of the items will be presented during the Arctic Biennale's second stage."

During the biennale week, in small Barentsburg everything was literally filled with art. Even the word was visualized in an art object by artist Sergey Katran. There is no word for "art" in the Russian-Nenets dictionary. The artist asked native speakers to find new words for "art." They came up with neologisms like "valeybzo", "paskoyvava", "hale of the year". The artist recorded the new words' sound vibrations and depicted them as ice figures. The material, imitating ice, highlights the language vulnerability and the risk of its disappearance, the author said.

The expedition participants brought about 30 new art objects to Barentsburg. In addition to earlier mentioned objects, those were The Ear of God by Vladimir Chernyshev, The Rooks Have Arrived by Nikolay Polissky, The Extract of Joy by Evgeny Sautkin, The Art-Arctic by Sergey Serov, Is It Really Me? By Katya Sergeeva, The Wasteland by Karina Batrachenko, The Germination by Anna Lapshinova, The Room by Yulia Nemova, We Hear Through the Wind by the Prowling Art Group, The Imaginary Museum by Katerina Kovaleva, a capsule collection of Arctic Linen by Katerina Terekhova, and The Cover by Alexander Konstantinov.

The Arktikatarsis installation by Vladimir Kuzmin was the project's symbolic unifying line. The work created from mining helmets on the village's main observation deck was based on the most recognizable architectural proportion: the golden ratio. "The symbol of labor in Barentsburg becomes part of the artistic idea and designates differently this place in the Arctic landscape," the artist said.

Right on the last day of the artists' visit to the archipelago, they opened the most complex and big-scale object - The Drunken Ship by Alexander Ponomarev. The composition, about 20 m high, is a system of masts, yards and sails on a sloop mounted on a port crane boom. The structure is made of the so-called thrown timber. "These logs have traveled a long and mysterious route in salt water. They have become strong and durable, like art that has passed many challenges," the Arctic Biennale's leader Alexander Ponomarev said.

The first part of the Arctic Biennale in Spitsbergen finished on time, despite the Professor Molchanov's arrest. All participants in the expedition have returned home safely, and now they are preparing expositions for the next stage, which is scheduled for December in Nizhny Novgorod at the branch of the Pushkin State Fine Arts Museum (Arsenal).