In 1897, S. A. Andrée and his crew set out to reach the North Pole on an aerostatic hydrogen balloon. After traversing a few hundred kilometres, they were forced to land on the ice and died on their way back to civilisation.

In 2018, Nya Småland invitied Axel Straschnoy to do a residency at the Grenna Museum Polarcenter. Out of that residency came Float a new project for the museum’s collection.

For Float, Straschnoy created a buoy inspired by the one Andrée was planning to drop on the North Pole from his balloon. He launched it into the sea off the coast of Lofoten, into the Norwegian current. The current carries water along the west coast of Norway, towards Svalbard. A part of it continues towards the Arctic.

Thus, a buoy let loose into it has some chance to make it to the Arctic. Once there, there is a non-zero chance of it getting frozen-in in the Arctic ice. Once part of the Arctic ice, there is a non-zero chance it will one day be over the North Pole. The possibilities are slim, yes, but so were Andrée’s.

Float

A project by

Axel Straschnoy

Commissioned by

Jonatan Habib Engqvist and Mike Bode for Nya Småland

In collaboration with

Grenna Museum Polarcenter / Håkan Jorikson

3D Design support

Albert Laine

Seaworthiness consultant

Javier Casabé

Arctic currents consultants

Øystein Skagseth and Jussi T. Eronen

Manufacturing consultants

Alejandro Fuhrmann and Sami Supply

Design consultant

Rodrigo Bertotto

Launched to the sea

during a residency at the Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation at the invitation of Maaretta Jaukkuri

Local help and support

AK Dolven, Thora Dolven Balke and Annika Wiström

Launch Photographs

Gustav Gunvaldsen and AK Dolven

Produced by

Kolme Perunaa