With nature on our side
Resilience in Rural Areas in Iceland is an ongoing documentary project carried out in collaboration with my Swiss colleague Florine Schmid, with the support of the ECCA-DMJX grant. The project explores the future of Árneshreppur, the most sparsely populated municipality in Iceland, where only twelve inhabitants live across three remote valleys. Through three separate journeys, we aim to document the evolution of this community over time and question the possible disappearance, or resilience, of this village in the face of isolation, demographic decline, and social change.
The first chapter was photographed in May 2024 during the lambing season, a crucial moment that reveals the central role of sheep farming in the rhythm of everyday life. We returned in September 2025 to document the traditional réttir, the annual sheep roundup when inhabitants gather in the mountains to bring the sheep back from summer grazing areas and sort them before winter. A final journey is planned for January 2027, during the harsh Arctic winter, when roads are often completely blocked by snow and the community faces its greatest isolation.
Through these different seasons, the project explores the deep connection between the inhabitants, their land, and their animals, while observing how sheep farming, traditions, and collective support continue to shape the identity and survival of this remote Icelandic village. By returning year after year, we seek to capture not only a place, but the transformation of a community and the uncertain future of rural life in Iceland.
Road leading to the village of Árneshreppur, about 400 km from Reykjavik. May 2024.
Skuli, a law student in Reykjavik, has just finished his final exam. He hurries to his grandparents‘ farm in the village, several hours’ drive away. May 2024.
The rams are released into the mountains, while the ewes, ready to give birth, remain inside the stables. May 2024.
Portrait of Skuli with his grandparents, farmers whose main activity is raising sheep. May 2024.
During lambing season, the grandchildren come to help their grandparents on the farm, transforming the house into a lively place full of life. May 2024.
A rotation is organised to keep an eye on the ewes, even at night. Skuli takes the night shift and will wake a family member at 3am to take over. He loves the peace and quiet and the smell of this farm, which he missed in May 2024.
The village church, which is still standing, could be renovated and enlarged, but the twelve residents are hesitant. Some would prefer to invest the money elsewhere. May 2024.
The only shop in the village, run by a young Frenchman who left everything to settle here. A Polish villager waits to pay for her groceries while the mayor chats quietly with the few customers. May 2024.
The school closed in 2016, after the last pupils and their families left for bigger cities. May 2024.
In Iceland, myths and beliefs in elves are omnipresent. It is said that these creatures hide behind large rocks, like this one. May 2024
the grandparents prepare to go together to look after the animals and help give birth to a ewe. May 2024
Archive of the Melar farm: the grandparents, then aged 18, had just bought it. May 2024.
Fish brought by Eli, the village fisherman, and the recipe book Berta has kept since she was a child. May 2024.
Archive of Born and his friends when the village was still full. May 2024
Born, the farm's grandfather, observes the ewes via the surveillance cameras installed in the stables to monitor the births. May 2024.
In May, lambing season, the stables fill up with ewes ready to give birth. May 2024.
Skuli helps a ewe give birth by inserting her hand to retrieve the lamb, thus minimising the animal's pain. May 2024.
As soon as the little ones are born, if they can't drink on their own, Born or another member of the family should be available to help them if necessary. May 2024
May is also the time to bring out the boats. Eli and his brothers open the barn to take out an old boat and repaint it. May 2024.
Eli, the village fisherman, lives here for most of the year. When the winters are too harsh, he leaves to live in Dakar for a few months. May 2024.
The harbour is home to a few fishing boats and passing craft, sometimes used by holidaymakers. May 2024.
Eli lives either on his boat or in a house behind a hill, accessible only by sea. It's May 2024.
The village airport, May 2024
The community does a lot of bartering: today, Eli brought some fish for the family to prepare. What they don't use is returned to nature. May 2024.
The ice baths help Skuli to refocus on himself and regain his equilibrium. May 2024.
Skuli used to dream of taking over the farm like his grandfather. Now, with the village drying up, he's not so sure. May 2024.