BEILI LIU 劉北立

Performance in five Arctic locations, 2-Channel Video Installation, Hå Gamle Prestegard, Norway, as part of the Dreams of the High North exhibition.

LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD, NORWAY 78°13′24″ N,15°38′48″ E

Arctic Mending / Snow Mandala was performed in five different locations in Arctic Norway in the Spring of 2022. From the snowing‑falling Tromsdalen valley to the open tundra of the Sámi heartland, to the rocky shore of the northernmost archipelago of Svalbard, I sat in the snow covered landscape and sewed in silence. The large sheet of mulberry paper had been stuffed in my backpack, carried from one place to another, laid on snow, sewn on and again. It became soft, moistened by snow melted by my body heat at each site, and laden with wrinkles, stains, and accumulated stitches. Arctic Mending / Snow Mandala is an offering to the Arctic landscape and its profound loss and sorrow, in hope for healing for the landscape and all beings within.