Icelandic Lava Rock

Natural processes, penultimate Glacial Period

Lava Rock

Dimensions variable

Found object

Personal travels collection

This small collection of lava rocks represents the history of nature. Collected on the black sand beaches of Reynisfjara, Iceland, the formation of the stone is unique to its location. Iceland is located over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is the split between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. This split is what causes the high level of volcanic activity in Iceland, which is home to 30 volcanoes, with the most recent eruption occurring in 2010. This volcanic activity is what helped to create the island and the stones that cover the beach.

I visited Iceland for the first time in the summer of 2018, embarking on a road trip that would be one of the most interesting and epic ones that I’ve taken to date. Visiting Iceland was like being on another planet, the nature is overwhelming, and in some instances foreboding. This feeling comes from feeling out of place as you drive down the quiet and empty highways in Iceland, in and amongst the otherworldly natural landscapes. On that trip I came face-to-face with the reality that nature and the history of the natural world deserves our respect. Before humans, the earth and all of nature was there, existing, changing, growing, and surviving without us, for over four billion years. Volcanos exploded, mountains were formed, seas were moved, and the earth’s crust reshaped to become the world we know now. On this trip to Iceland, I gained a new perspective on what it means to be a resident on the earth which holds us up. We are just visitors on our short trek through life, but the earth will remain. These stones are a reminder of the history and respect that humans need to form with the earth.

When I travel, I’m not looking to collect treasures or take home souvenirs because they don’t mean much other than, ‘I visited a place.’ However, what I do look for when I travel is what can I learn from the experience. That trip to Iceland taught me a lot about the importance and history of nature and the planet, which is why I collected that small handful of black volcanic rock from a beach with a name that sounds like a sneeze. In collecting the lava rocks I have a physical reminder of a memory and the lessons that come with that physical encounter with place.

Heather Clayton