Hvitserkur stands about fifty meters off the eastern shore of the Vatnsnes peninsula in northwest Iceland, fifteen meters of basalt left behind when the sea took away everything around it. It is an eroded volcanic dyke, and the holes worn through its base are why people see an elephant, or a rhino, or a dragon bending to drink. The name is more prosaic. Hvitserkur means white shirt, for the guano of the gulls and fulmars that nest on top of it.
I had wanted to photograph it for years. I found it first from the cliff above, then climbed down and worked from the sand as the tide went out.
Here is the part I learned later. In the 1950s the people who live here grew worried it would fall, and filled one of the holes at its base with concrete. It has been standing partly on that ever since, and some credit the reinforcement with getting it through a large earthquake in 1963.
I find I do not mind knowing. Part of what a place like this gives you is its apparent self-sufficiency, the sense that it asks nothing of anyone and would be standing whether or not you came. That is a real part of why such places rest the mind. Nothing is required of you because nothing is required of it. This one is a slight exception. It is here because the sea has not finished with it, and because a few farmers decided seventy years ago that it was worth keeping.
Lone Guardian is that rock at low tide, holding its position with rather more help than it appears to need.
Photographed at Hvitserkur, on the eastern shore of the Vatnsnes peninsula in Hunafloi bay, northwest Iceland, at low tide under an overcast sky. This is a single frame long exposure, rendered in black and white. The subject is Hvitserkur, a basalt sea stack about 15 meters tall standing roughly 50 meters offshore, the remains of an eroded volcanic dyke, with holes worn through its base by wave action. Its name means white shirt in Icelandic, a reference to the guano of the gulls, fulmars and shags that nest on it. In the 1950s local residents filled one of the basal holes with concrete out of concern that the stack would collapse. Icelandic folklore describes it as a troll turned to stone by sunrise while trying to tear down the bells of the Thingeyrar monastery. Presented as a vertical print, offered as an archival limited edition from 16 by 40 inches to 32 by 80 inches on acrylic, metal, or archival paper.
Each image is released in limited editions, with edition size set by presentation and scale, so the most substantial works remain the most rare.
.
Not sure which print size will work best? See this artwork in my guide to choosing the right fine art print size, with examples of how different scales can change the feeling of a room.
Every work ships insured and arrives with a signed certificate of authenticity.
If a piece is damaged in transit, the choice of replacement is always yours, and your edition number stays with you.
Production time runs 2 to 3 weeks for metal, 3 to 4 weeks for acrylic and paper, and 5 to 6 weeks for framed work.
Collector Edition of 25 · Lumachrome TruLife Acrylic · Handcrafted Italian Frame
TruLife acrylic in a handcrafted Italian frame with a linen liner chosen for the image. Frame series, finish, and liner are settled with you after the order, and production begins from there. The frame and liner add about fourteen inches to the finished dimensions, worth allowing for when planning placement.
Signature Edition of 50 · Lumachrome TruLife Acrylic · Gallery Float Mount
Face-mounted to TruLife acrylic and floated approximately one inch from the wall, with no frame to mediate between the image and the room. UV-resistant, anti-reflective, and scratch-resistant, with a lifetime guarantee against fading.
Signature Edition of 50 · ChromaLuxe Metal Print · Gallery Float Mount
Color infused into the aluminum panel itself, floated from the wall on a concealed system. Where acrylic produces luminosity, metal produces clarity. Exceptional fade resistance with no glazing or coating required.
Fine Art Edition of 100 · Hahnemühle Baryta Fine Art Paper
Printed without acrylic, so light meets the paper surface directly. Highlights stay luminous, shadows keep their nuance, and the surface has a tactile quality the other presentations approach differently. The understated choice, and the traditional one.
Complimentary shipping within the continental United States. International collector shipping available upon request.
Still deciding
Designing for Stillness
A guide to choosing art for restorative spaces
How to tell whether an image will still hold you in a year, how scale changes what a photograph does in a room, and how to match a piece to the work a room actually performs. It cites the research it draws on, and it is equally clear about where that research stops. About ten minutes to read.