Taubanesentralen • Spitsbergen

Description

• image code: LSC0006
• Taubanesentralen on Spitsbergen
• exposure time 15 seconds
• GPS location 78°13’24.8″N 15°37’04.4″E

Coal mining was a common occupation in Spitsbergen (also known as Svalbard). Even though the harsh climate so far north is a challenge, the coal is easy acces. This construction, Taubanesentralen, used to be the central building that distributed the cola mining carts towards the different mines around Longyearbyen. The carts would collect the coal and bring it to this building from where it was distributed to the harbour below and to other locations from there. Now it is a ruin, standing tall, reminding inhabitants and visitors about the heritage of the archipelago.

This image was taken with expired Kodak 120 film from the 1980’s in an old Agfa Box camera. As the camera and film are very old, sometimes the film does not run through properly resulting in images close or on top of one another. I like these little accidents, you can also see that during developing some of the film was crumbled out, leaving a black hole on the side. This little accident actually helps the perception of an old ruin that is not in use anymore, it reminds us of a time before ours and puts the architecture in a historical perspective.

Extra info

The image will be printed onto Hahnemühle Natural Line Fine Art Paper based on hemp and using the Epson Sure Color Printing technique.