In January 2009, I spent one month in a small fishing village in the north of Iceland. This was for an artist residency called NES, in the village of Skagastrond. Normally, there are 5-10 artists there, but by chance, probably because of the economic situation, I was the only artist there that month. The darkness and sense of isolation led me to seek human contact through my art practice, and I initiated a performance/action that I call the “Fish Exchange.” For this action, I went to the small commercial harbor in the town with artwork I had

made earlier at the residency, and engaged one of the fishermen in an exchange of artwork for fish (cod and haddock in this case). It was dark and freezing there, and these fishermen were unloading their catch after 18 hours of work at sea, so they were initially a bit suspicious of a foreigner walking up to them with a strange proposal in English. However, Icelandic good humor prevailed, and the exchange was a success (twice). At the time, I considered the concept behind the exchange to be a test of the value of my art in that small marketplace. (How many fish could I get for it?) I now consider the point of the project to be the interpersonal exchange and

conversations that happen during the bartering.