A Spell to Merge Two Ecosystems is an experiment in building rituals that encourage reflection on one's interconnection with one's ecosystem. With this spell, I encourage the spellcaster to reflect and actively engage with their own surroundings, whilst providing a portal to an Icelandic setting they may or may not be familiar with. The outcome is an alchemical brew: a sip of a world of your own making, that didn’t exist before. This work is a result of ongoing research stemming from my role as a member of Iceland’s Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta (SFF) Rights of Nature collective. The artist proof was donated as SFF’s contribution to the Embassy of the North Sea’s’ Diplomatic Suitcase: an itinerant exhibition of water and artifacts from water-related Rights of Nature movements which are members of the Confluence of European Water Bodies.
paper, foraged birch leaf, cotton thread
A Spell to Merge Two Ecosystems
Think about the bodies of water in your ecosystem. Which one do you have a strong connection with?
Collect potable water connected to that source. Purify as needed for safe ingestion.
Boil purified water and steep this pillow of seasonal herbs foraged within view of Snæfellsjökull.
Plant your feet into the landscape. Breathe deeply, and drink.
Snæfellsjökull is an approximately 840,000 year old glacier-capped stratovolcano living at the tip of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It is an ecosystem made of many beings, and in interrelation with most on this island.
