French Sailors
Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland
For more than three hundred years French fishermen sailed to Iceland in search of cod. During this period the French had a significant influence on Icelanders where they introduced new techniques in fishing and built four hospitals in Iceland giving the inhabitants unprecedented access to health care. It has been estimated that just between the1825 and the start of the First World War, about four thousand French sailors perished off the coasts of Iceland.
In June 2014 a new exhibition celebrating the French sailors was opened in the “French Hospital“ in Fáskrúðsfjörður. Gagarin produced two interactive tables presenting the French-Icelandic history and a living “memorial“ remembering the sailors who gave their lives in Icelandic waters.
The memorial wall honors the memory of the French fishermen who lost their lives in the perilous waters of the Icelandic sea.
It has been estimated that just between the 1825 and the start of the First World War, about four thousands French sailors perished off the coasts of Iceland.
The names of the fishermen, displayed in golden letters, appear and disappear like memories from a faraway past. Their very essence is at the mercy of the rolling waves.
Árni Páll Jóhannsson designed the exhibition. Photo: Jónína Óskarsdóttir
Gagarin produced two interactive tables presenting the French-Icelandic history. Photo: Jónína Óskarsdóttir
The multimedia solution gives the visitors extra insight into the history.
Photo: Jónína Óskarsdóttir