THE ARCTIC CIRCLE PROGRAM - 2009

Mark Andreas was one of eighteen individuals who participated in the first "Arctic Circle Expedition", October 5th through the 22nd, 2009. Selected to participate were outstanding artists, musicians, scientists and educators who excelled in their given fields. They experienced a sailing voyage on a Gafe Rigged Schooner. Being a life long avid sailer, this opportunity was a particularly thrilling one for Mark. He spent seventeen days and nights sailing into the High Arctic to collectively explore this rarely seen and remote environment. All those who participated, created works during the residency that expressed and explained their unique experiences.

Mark's was fascinated by the fact that the beaches of Svalbard were covered with driftwood, even though the archipelago was many hundreds of miles from living trees. Mark discovered that due to the interlinked global ocean currents, and the gulf stream, wood found on the shores of Svalbard could have originated from anywhere on the North American or European continents. Due to the fact that the temperature rarely get above freezing, the wood is preserved and could conceivably be many hundreds of years old. Mark built a reactive sculpture out of found Siberian lurch, washed up fishing buoy and fishing line. Mark's piece, "Arctic Driftwood" represents nature and the powerful forces of the sea and man's struggle to controle this natural force.