“The Northernmost” | Pt.3

Check out part 3 showcasing the making of the northernmost graffiti piece in the world

The mission for the day was the cliff on the road near Gjesvær. Bjørn called up his friend with the snow truck to clear our wall from the snow.This time I thought I should not do a style piece with my name, but rather a name that has something to do with the place I’m at. Even that Gjesvær is a small village it is a settlement for people since 6000! years.It is mentioned in SnorreSturlason’s Heimskringla (1225) as the first landing site from the north.In 1026, returning from a raid in Russia, a famous Norwegian Viking named Tore Hund killed fellow Viking Karle in Gjesvær. The best thing I think I could do was to paint the name of “Tore Hund” and dedicate the wall to the people of the community.
Though it was only -10° Celsius at the wall it should have felt warmer than at the factory the day before, but it wasn’t. With the weather changing every 20 minutes plus a cold and humid breeze from down the sea it made the action harder than the one the other day. We had to leave the car turned on all day since it was very dark and felt very cold, so that we could warm up from time to time.The local radio station showed up taking an interview with us. Then I found out that the lady interviewing me was the former Lotto fairy of Norway. Later the others took off for about an hour leaving me alone up there in darkness.
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“It was a strange but awesome feeling: Alone, quiet, surrounded by purest nature with northern lights above me. I had only a headlight that Bjørn gave me, so I was at least able to see what I was painting.” – Kent
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Gladly they returned a little later so I could warm up and then almost finish my work. Back at the cabin Bjørn had prepared a great meal for us: 3,5 kg of delicious king crab. We almost ate it up and went to bed stuffed.

Time passed so quickly and our last day in Gjesvær was about to begin. Björn and us went back to the cliff, so I could do a few finishing touches on my work. The piece again was covered in snow, so we had to dig it out, before I could proceed and finally sign the wall. Together we drove around the island to take more pictures especially of the first wall, while having conversations and making fun. After the ride it was about time to pack stuff and say Goodbye to Bjørn, Helene, their son and the beautiful village of Gjesvær. We promised and were sure that we would return one day. Knowing we would have almost 280 km ahead of us, we stopped in Honningsvåg to get gasoline because it is pretty dangerous running out of gas in the cold in the middle of nowhere. On the long ride back to Alta during the night we knew why: Minus 27° Celsius inside the country was the coldest temperature the thermometer told us. After almost 4 hours we arrived in Alta late at night.

Time to get to the airport, drop the carkeys and fly back home with a short stop in Oslo. During the flight back I had time to recap the whole week of adventure, fun, laughs, freezing, painting, seafood, nature, northern lights, etc. Ruedi and me both agreed that this had been one of the greatest actions we had done so far, even though that the artwork wasn’t as much the center of it as in previous actions. We were basically thrilled by experience and were really happy and thankful for being able to do what we had done and experienced.
Thanks to all the people that had helped me getting it done, especially the Jenssen family, Nina from Hordafor, the snow truck, Montana Cans, Rüdiger Glatz the brilliant camera and everyone who appreciated what i did.

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