In 2007, a mini-submarine carrying Artur Chilingarov, a Russian parliamentarian and veteran explorer, descended into the ice-covered sea at the North Pole, extended its robotic arm, and planted a Russian flag on the sea floor. Méndez’s El Norte is a critique on the prevailing ‘15th century colonial attitude’ and in particular, its relation to the current geopolitics of the North Pole.

Single channel video. Captured in 16mm film throughout Iceland, Svalbard Archipelago, Atacama Desert in Chile, and in White Sands, United States. Sound by composer Ben Frost, Iceland. Duration: 9 mins. 38 secs. Continuous loop. Nothing Further Happens is a collection of land- and seascapes filmed in the past 5 years in Iceland, Svalbard archipelago in the high arctic, the salt flats in the desert of Atacama in Chile, and White Sands in New Mexico, U.S. The subject is the distant horizon line and the frame locates the ‘line’ exactly half way, creating a symmetrical composition. This equivalence allows for the viewer to experience the sensation of being surrounded only by vast horizons in a complete surrender to spatial infinity.

Recurrence Relation # 2 is a single channel video projection, where the tenuous image of a figure emerges from the distant horizon. The figure walks towards the viewer, even at times looks straight onto the viewer, then continues beyond the viewer. The landscape of the barren high arctic sits still as the figure emerges again, to repeat the same migrating pathway, endlessly. Filmed in Moffen Island, International Territory of Svalbard, an archipelago near the north pole (80°N, 14.5°E), 2010. Duration: 3 minutes, 35 seconds.