Real. Arctic.

On view February 25 – August 16, 2026
Art of the North Galleries, Third Floor, East Wing

Real. Arctic. is a multifaceted art and archival project by Jérémie McGowan and Amund Sjølie Sveen of Norway that examines how the Arctic is imagined, marketed, and lived today. Taking shape as an exhibition, site-specific installation, pop-up tourist shop, performance, and evolving archive, the project moves fluidly between contemporary art, documentary material, mass-produced consumer goods, and collectible objects. 

The center of the exhibition is Arctic Armpit, a wall installation composed of hundreds of bottles of “Pure Arctic” deodorant, an everyday product whose branding exposes tensions between authenticity and commodification, and between local experience and global narratives.

Arctic Archive brings together photographs and objects collected through an ongoing, collective research project that documents how the idea of the Arctic circulates through tourism, commerce, and popular culture. Completing the project is Real. Arctic. ______., a line of design objects that critically mirrors the souvenir industry and extends the art installation into the Anchorage Museum Store.