Pilot Whale Killing in theNordic House

Icelanders will soon have an excellent opportunity to get a better understanding of Grindadráp, or Pilot Whale Killing, the ancient tradition still very much alive in the Faroes.

From January 14th  to February 12th , the Nordic House in Reykjavík is hosting an exhibition with photographs taken during a pilot whale killing which took place on the beach of Tórshavn 23 July 2010.

The exhibition has already been open in Tórshavn and in Copenhagen, and now the turn has come to Reykjavík.  

The photographs are taken by Regin W. Dalsgaard in a few minutes and illustrate the intense struggle between whales and man during a whale killing. The main theme of the photographs is not the whale killing itself but rather the participants whose expressions tell us about the deep emotions involved in this act. Nowadays, it is rare to see such strong emotions expressed elsewhere but on the screen, watching a Hollywood production. However, these photographs show Faroese people taking a break from daily life to participate in the age-old tradition of whale killing, says photographer Regin W. Dalsgaard.

Regin considers himself as being a messenger. His fascination for the act of whale killing goes back a long way, but his opinion on this activity is neutral, as he recognizes the arguments of both proponents and opponents of whale killing.  

International medias have paid attention to the photograps and have included them in their programmes. This summer, Discovery Channel produced a documentary programme from the Faroes, where Regin was participating with his activities as a photographer. The programme will be broadcasted later this year.  

Regin Weihe Dalsgaard was born in Torshavn in 1984. Photography has long been Regin's passion. His favorite subjects are mainly portraits of people and animals, and concerts, and he has worked for international music magazines and for Faroese and foreign bands.

His pictures can be found in Gaffa, a renowned Danish music magazine, and in Metal Hammer, the biggest metal music magazine in Britain. Furthermore, several news papers have published his pictures.

Regin is currently training as a photographer at the New York Institute of Photography, where he won a Merit Award for one of his photographs in 2010.

Besides taking pictures Regin works as director of Globi, an IT-company, see www.globi.fo. Regin is also chairman of the board of the Enterprise Fund in the Faroes.

The photographs of the Pilot Whale Killing have been published in a book, 2 Minutes, which is being sold at the Nordic House during the exhibition.