Stories Concerning Heimaey

Images and text: Erik Berglin
Graphic design: Markel Ahlenius
Size: 180 x 230 x 25 mm. 124 pages (52 + 72)
Hardcover with double Swiss binding
Edition: 400 / Swedish. 100 / English
Print: Livonia. ISBN: 9789153111115

The volcano has not erupted for five thousand years but at 01:55 on January 23 1973, the inhabitants of the small island Heimaey, were awakened by a strong earthquake. A few minutes later a powerful cascade of lava explodes on the outskirts of town. The police drive around with a megaphone, urging everyone to evacuate immediately.

Forty years later, Erik Berglin travels to the island to find out more about a mysterious death that occurred during this eruption. After a while he realises that he no longer seems to focus on what really happened. Instead his enquiries revolve around the myth-making that can occur when a small community suffers a collective tragedy.  Facts have turned into myths while myths have been transformed into facts.

The story evolves and takes the reader on a trip around the world. It can be read as a portrait of the artist,  his process and doubts but it is also a depiction of what happens when a whole community has to flee in the middle of the night.

The book is divided in two sections, using a unique double Swiss binding. One part consists of calm landscape images of the solidified lava field, combined with a travel journal with voyeuristic observations of historical events and phenomena relating to Heimaey. The other part contains assemblages made with archive images that have been altered with digital and analog retouch. It also includes extracts from interviews made by the artist during his visits to Iceland.