The Sky and the Earth was created at the Nes residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland, in 2012 and exhibited at Paper Mountain in Perth, Australia, in 2013.

Skagaströnd is a small fishing town in Iceland’s north of about 500 people. I spent February and March living in this community, just missing the worst of winter but before spring had thawed it out. The body of work I made examines the relationship between those two ever present and dominating features of the Icelandic landscape; the sky and the earth – and the community that exists between them.

“One might think that Australia and Iceland have little in common… Despite vastly differing geological features and conditions, parallels can be drawn between the two. They are places of extremes, where the mythological teeters on the brink of plausibility and where stories are grown, passed down and knit communities together.” Excerpt from The Sky and the Earth Catalogue essay by Shaye Preston, 2013

Claire Pendrigh, “Ice Crystals in Salt Water”, 2012, oil and acrylic on linen, 90 x 170 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Listen … The Earth is Talking to the Sky”, 2012, oil and acrylic on linen, 120 x 90 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Álfasteinn”, 2012, oil and acrylic on linen, 120 x 90 cm, photograph: James Grose

Claire Pendrigh, “Heave”, 2012, oil and acrylic on linen, 120 x 90 cm, photograph: Darren Tynan

Claire Pendrigh, “Through Crystallised Eyes”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 80 x 90 cm, photograph: Darren Tynan

Claire Pendrigh, “Are Those Snow Clouds on the Horizon? I”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 30 x 30 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Are Those Snow Clouds on the Horizon? II”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 30 x 30 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Are Those Snow Clouds on the Horizon? III”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 30 x 30 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Are Those Snow Clouds on the Horizon? IV”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 30 x 30 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Are Those Snow Clouds on the Horizon? V”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 30 x 30 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Are Those Snow Clouds on the Horizon? VI”, 2012, acrylic on linen, 30 x 30 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Mountain Net II”, 2012, pen on watercolour paper, 78 x 57 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Mountain Net I”, 2012, pen on watercolour paper, 78 x 57 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “Ocean Map”, 2012, pen on watercolour paper, 78 x 57 cm

Claire Pendrigh, “The Constellations Under My Skin I, II & III”, 2012, pen on Icelandic lamb’s skin

Claire Pendrigh, “The Constellations Under My Skin I”, 2012, pen on Icelandic lamb’s skin

Claire Pendrigh, “The Constellations Under My Skin I” (detail), 2012, pen on Icelandic lamb’s skin

Claire Pendrigh, “The Constellations Under My Skin II” (detail), 2012, pen on Icelandic lamb’s skin

Claire Pendrigh, “Lopi Mountains (or hats for the Hidden Folk)”, 2012, hand knitted Icelandic sheep’s wool, dimensions variable

Claire Pendrigh, “Lopi Mountains (or hats for the Hidden Folk)”, 2012, hand knitted Icelandic sheep’s wool, dimensions variable

Claire Pendrigh, “Lopi Mountains (or hats for the Hidden Folk)”, 2012, hand knitted Icelandic sheep’s wool, dimensions variable

Lopi Mountains in Iceland

Lopi Mountains in Iceland