Snowblindness

More about the book

Challenging colonial narratives surrounding the Netflix film Against the Ice, this personal editorial project by a present-day descendant broadens storytelling to foster cultural and historical inclusion. The film is based on the adventures of a Danish polar explorer, captain, and colonizer in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), whose writings contributed to the dominant history of Nordic colonialism. Designed and edited by Gudrun Havsteen-Mikkelsen, the great-granddaughter of the explorer, in collaboration with designer Anna Bierler, this work combines visual and textual contributions, archival material, dialogues, and controversies. It presents new grounds for engagement with the polar explorer’s stories, whether visually, orally, or textually transferred. The result is a generous and vulnerable reader that weaves information from diverse sources, emphasizing collaboration, trust, and questioning. Our lives resonate through storytelling, as history is rewritten, family stories are passed down, and plural perspectives broaden conversations. In this project, colonial narratives are challenged, encouraging a critical examination of history, ethics, and aesthetics.