Indefrosset skib ("Tuluit Hansip ilauvfîsa ukîvfigissât"); Indefrosset skib, set forfra ("Ardlaisa ukîvfiat'") 1878 - 1879

Lars Møller created this print, 'Indefrosset skib', using lithography, a process that democratized image-making in the 19th century. The stark monochrome and the very process of lithography, with its reliance on the mechanics of printing, serve to emphasize the industrial context of the scene. Look closely, and you'll see two images: ships trapped in ice, and the figures of sailors and local populations dwarfed by the landscape. The scene speaks volumes about the grand ambitions and the hard realities of Arctic exploration. Lithography itself involves drawing with a grease crayon on a stone or metal plate, treating it with chemicals, and then using oil-based ink to print the image. The nature of the medium, with its capacity for detailed representation, provides a window into a specific moment in time when industrialization was changing both creative practices and social realities. Here, Møller challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft, using lithography to mediate themes of labor, politics, and consumption in the far north.