A storied landscape: the evolving relationship with Iceland’s landscape through photography

In Iceland, photography as an artistic practice predated painting, sculpture, and other traditional art forms. Landscape photography was the first Icelandic photography exhibited internationally in 19012 and has been widely practiced in the country since that time, forming a significant part of Icelandic identity both in Iceland and abroad. To date however there has not been a systematic examination of the evolution of Icelandic landscape photography, the influences on this practice, or the relationship between Icelandic landscape images and Icelandic identity. This research examines Icelandic landscape photography through creative practice, as well as making a critical examination of the themes and influences underlying the evolution of landscape photography in Iceland. Contemporary Icelandic landscape photography is also examined through a combination of historical analysis and interview with three practicing Icelandic landscape photographers. The evolution of Icelanders’ relationship with their landscape through history from one of threat from a harsh landscape to appreciation of the beauty of the same landscape is investigated. This evolution coincided with increasing European attention to saga literature and changing foreign attitudes to Iceland. Earlier photographic and other images of the Icelandic landscape were related to the literature of the sagas and to tourism, while in contemporary times photography has evolved to reflect more personal and expressive themes as well as reflection on change and memory. This research seeks to address the lack of academic enquiry into the evolution of Icelandic landscape photography, and investigate the connections between Icelandic identity, the Icelandic landscape, and Icelandic landscape photography. My response to the Icelandic landscape and to the other stages of research formed the creative works made as part of this thesis in the forms of both research-led practice and practice-based research. My own response to the Icelandic landscape gave rise to consideration of more broad themes regarding the effects on Iceland’s landscape of settlement, settlement being reframed as a process of colonisation.