Fashion Eye Iceland

A land of ice and sagas, the volcanic island of Iceland fascinates for many reasons. Fewer than 400,000 souls live upon this windswept corner of the world, a place colonised by Vikings in the 9th century and illuminated age after age by the Northern lights. Half these inhabitants believe in elves, hidden entities whose even-hypothetical existence is enough to reroute the roads. But Jackie Nickerson paid homage to another power of the island in the summer and winter of 2022: unparalleled, immeasurable nature. Eldhraun, Skagafjörður, Námafjall, Mýrdalsjökull, the British artist sketches topographically rigorous panoramas of these remarkable sites of barbaric name. Verticals are rare in her neutral inventory in which omnipotent craters, canyons and waterfalls spread far and wide. The expanse of a lava desert, the depth of a fjord, the density of a blizzard, the biting polar cold, the echoing silence, the imagery depicts but never depletes all these concepts. A flock of seagulls, four tourists, two barns and the occasional car create a clear idea of scale. Elsewhere, the presence of humankind is indicative of its impact: as the climate changes, glacier melt accelerates, depositing huge moraines of stone and grit. Nickerson, well aware of the reality of cause and effect, documents a hybrid landscape, an altered Eden of unusual contours and colours. The fluorescent green of a moss field, the milky blue of a lagoon, the anthracite grey of basalt 'organ pipes': capturing the original purity of a region that is 'brand new in geological terms' inevitably leads to a consideration of its uncertain future. Inspired by the House's travel heritage, the Louis Vuitton Fashion Eye Collection evokes cities, regions or countries through the eyes of fashion photographers, from emerging talents to industry legends. Each title in the series features an extensive selection of large-format photographs, together with biographical information and an interview with the photographer or a critical essay. After the Louis Vuitton City Guides and Travel Books, this third collection presents travel photography with a fashion perspective, as the chosen photographers all infuse their images of great cities, faraway places or dream destinations with their unique vision.