Iceland One-Off - The Epine GY 7
The Epine GY 7 was a British fishing trawler that ran aground off Dritvik, Iceland during a horrendous storm on 13 March 1948. Members of the crew were seen tied to the forecastle, wheelhouse and the rigging of the ship as waves crashed over the ship with the incoming tide. Rescuers from three towns were unable to reach them and had to wait onshore, witnesses to the disaster. Of the 19 crew members, only 5 survived. One washed ashore, barely alive. The rescuers were not able to reach the four other survivors until the tide turned and it was possible to shoot a line to the ship, tie it onto the mast and then ferry the survivors to shore on a rescue seat. The Epine GY 7 was not the first ship to wreck upon those shores, and there have been ships since.
I give you this background out of respect for the crew members of the Epine GY 7. The photographs we make are at locations that often have a little-known history. Where there are remains of a shipwreck, one can readily imagine a tragedy occurred; here that tragedy is also documented on a placard. In other places, it’s not always so evident. But anywhere we go, others have been before. No place is truly untouched by man. We shouldn’t ignore that history. Rather, we should remember that we aren’t the first peoples here, and we certainly will not be the last. We should remember those stories we can learn, and help to protect places for those who will come in the future.
The remains of the Epine GY 7 have washed up deep into the cove on Djúpalónssandur beach, which we visited during our exploration of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. At one point Ann called me over and said, “I think these would make great abstract subjects for you.” She was right. I started making these photographs right then.
I started with the piece that Ann pointed out to me.
But there are many remnants of the Epine GY 7, so I started walking from piece to piece, examining each to see if a pattern caught my eye and to visually explore how to make sense of these subjects.
I came to recognize that what interested me most was the contrast between the rusted metal and the black, lava rock stone shore; stones worn smooth by ocean waves.
Then it became a question of looking for patterns and interesting forms in the remnants strewn about in the cove.
The more I worked, the more I sought to simplify the images.
That generally meant getting close and closer to the subject once I found a new piece of metal that invited me to make an image.
Eventually, the subject became little more than a worn, rusty metal sheet over volcanic pebbles.
Then it was time to stop.
Sometimes, the hardest thing is to know when to stop. I’d spent some time with the wreckage of the Epine GY 7 and taken enough from that disaster. It was time to remember them and then move on.
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!