These two installations by Emilia Telese explore hidden histories of Iceland’s landscapes through the fragile, elemental medium of dust. The project uncovers the surprising relationship between deserts and forests in Iceland’s natural chronology. Vast volcanic deserts, created by Viking-era deforestation and glacial retreat, now produce dust storms that carry particles across the Arctic and mainland Europe. Recent melting has revealed remnants of an ancient rainforest preserved beneath glaciers for millennia, connecting today’s barren expanses with a lost, fertile past. The installation’s delicate, floating materials intentionally reflect on the Earth’s own fragility.
The work features dust gathered from the Icelandic dust hotspot of Dyngjusandur—Europe’s largest desert and a key global dust source—through Telese’s ongoing collaboration with Dr. Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova, a leading figure in High Latitude Dust research.
Together, these works invite us to consider time as a deep, layered concept where forests become deserts, glaciers conceal ancient life, and dust travels across continents. They are meditations on the unseen connections that bind ecosystems across space and centuries.
Exhibited at: The Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, October 2025
Organised by PAM The Paper Arts Museum
Dust Forest
Installation, dimensions variable, 2025
Monotype, collagraph and engraving on twelve 1mx2m rice paper scrolls, pigment and dust from the Dingyusandur dust hotspot, Iceland
Dust Forest reveals Iceland’s fragile balance between desert and forest. Vast volcanic deserts, formed by medieval deforestation and glacial retreat, now generate dust storms that travel thousands of kilometers. Beneath the melting ice lie remnants of ancient rainforests, preserved for millennia. Using dust collected from Dyngjusandur—Europe’s largest desert and a key global dust source—Telese connects the hidden layers of Iceland’s landscape with cycles of ecological change. The fragility of the work intentionally mirrors the fragility of the Earth’s environment.
Suite for an Imaginary Forest
Prelude (90 × 44 cm), Allegro (89 × 42 cm), Adagio (70 × 44 cm), Andante (69 × 43 cm), Minuetto (70 × 43 cm), Presto (89 × 43 cm)
Engraving, collagraph and monotype on paper, with dust from Dyngjusandur, Eyrardalur, and Snæfellsjökull glacier, pigment, and lapis lazuli.
Suite for an Imaginary Forest extends this exploration into the language of music. Conceived as a suite, each movement (Prelude, Allegro, Adagio, Andante, Minuetto, Presto) evokes the slow rhythms of a forest’s life, unfolding over centuries. Telese uses techniques that treat time as a material—allowing pigments, lapis lazuli, and dust from Dyngjusandur, Eyrardalur, and the Snæfellsjökull glacier to dry and shift at their own pace, echoing seasonal change.
