The Outer Limits

Not much happens on the outer reaches of the arctic island Svalbard, Norway. Its sole inhabitants are desolate, snow-blanketed landscapes; a couple abandoned Russian mining settlements and scattered scientific facilities; and a lone photographer, Christain Houge, just taking huge bites out of it all with his camera. The mysterious, majestic vistas in his exhibit “Arctic Technology” -- all twilight and Sigur Rós and Superman’s Fortress of Solitude -- are made even more so by the serious telecommunications equipment planted into them. There’s nothing like a giant satellite dish, pointing straight up at the end of the world, presumably in discussion with the Andromeda Galaxy, to make you feel small (but that feels pretty good, too).
Feb. 7-March 21, 2009