The Weather Diary (2022–2023)

As a “weather reporter” for a year, first four months resident in the Library of Water in Stykkishólmur, West-Iceland, then in Reykjavík, Einar Falur reported daily on the weather. The observation started May 1st 2022 and continued until summer-solistice 2023, wherever he happened to be at the time. This “weather station” in Iceland was part of the global World Weather Network. Formed in response to the climate emergency, the World Weather Network was a constellation of weather stations set up by 28 arts agencies around the world and invited people to look, listen, learn, and act. For one year artists, writers and communities shared observations, stories, reflections and images about their local weather, creating an archipelago of voices and viewpoints.
Einar Falur’s daily reports consisted of his look at the sky at noon. With his daily photograph you see the weather report from the same day and at the same time in 1852, 170 years before, by Árni Thorlacius (1802-1891). Thorlacius was the first one to record the weather in a systematic way in Iceland, five times a day for decades and exactly on the hill in Stykkishólmur where Library of Water now stands. Underneath is the official record of the weather where and when Einar Falur was located when he makes the image.
Besides recording wind speed, direction of the wind, temperature and air pressure in a systematic and objective way, Thorlacius also describes “the look of the sky”. Einar Falur’s reports – the spine of various projects he worked on in this weather station - do the same, use the official meteorological reports with his views on the look of the sky.

In September 2024 an exhibition of Einars Falur’s weather projects, including the 365 diary entries, will be opened in the Akureyri Art Museum in North-Iceland.