What if I could fly?
I finally set up my little studio in the freezer room of the fish factory and as I was fiddling with all the little pieces I wondered what DOES go on in a fish factory. So I googled it.
Processing can include washing, chilling, skinning, gilling and gutting, filleting, shucking, cooking, smoking, salting, drying, preserving, or canning.
I think the factory that we are in was just where they would process the fish. Any old fish? Not sure but it must have really stunk in here with all the fish guts.
Interestingly, there’s an old herring and prawn factory in town, which Anne the writer/publisher/photographer, talked about. However we misheard “prawn” as “porn,” so it’s now known as the “Porn Factory.” It’s possible to go out with one of the fishermen, but Vicky, the director at NES, warns that everyone who has gone out has gotten sick. The fisherman won’t turn back before their 12-hour shift is up, so those who go out end up can potentially spend the entire shift throwing up. It doesn’t sound very appealing.
My studio is in the freezer. I wonder if the freezer still works and if I am here late at night and the freezer turns on will people just come in and find me a block of ice in the morning?
The Fishing industry is one of the key industries in Iceland, and employs around 8,000 people, or approx. 4.2 percent of the total workforce. I just googled this without checking so no idea how true this is but why then are so many fish factories closed? I came across quite a few factories converted into artist centers. Supposedly it’s because there are less fish (but again don’t take my word for it as I just heard this fact and no idea how true it is).
It’s a HUGE freezer so there must have been alot of fish in here.
I think about fish alot these days.
Back to my project. I must confess that I cheated a little by writing a song earlier just to test how things would flow. The song is about time, space, running away, coming back, thinking, and dreaming and mostly just creating and holding memories.
Today, we had an artist talk where we got to hear more about each other’s projects. It was a magical afternoon of just listening, but also a bit scary when it was my turn to present. I talked about my project in the context of the song I wrote and am so grateful to Melinda for capturing some of the song. The sound in here is amazing! I hope the ghosts of all the fish past are enjoying the music.
As of now, I’m not sure how I want to release these songs yet, so I will just post the lyrics.
Fly to Mars
Fleeting it seems that in between
One blink and the next time stops
We are a moving book we wander
feel we listen and we look
CHORUS
From time time we’ll see the stars
From time to time we’ll fly to mars
we’ll move around the galaxy questioning our sanity
From time to time we’ll disappear adding moments to our years
The time is right
Coiled and on hold our memories
and all it contains will unfold someday
The time is right
