Going Without Knowing: Geoff McFetridge × Norse Projects

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Norse Projects just launched a collection of clothing with artist Geoff McFetridge. To inspire the collection, they went on a bikepacking trip along the base of the Sierra Nevada. Find more about Geoff’s work, see an amazing gallery of photos from the trip, and watch a 16mm film they shot along the way…

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, and now based in Los Angeles, artist Geoff McFetridge has an incredible body of work that’s rooted in graphic design. Geoff employs a plethora of mediums that include painting, illustration, poetry, and moving image. A lot of his work is inspired by his cycling trips, which also underpin the designs he created with Norse Projects, an outerwear brand based in Copenhagen, Denmark. To inspire their collaborative collection, Geoff went on a bikepacking and bikefishing trip along the base of the Sierra Nevadas, painting and recording his travels. Find some of his thoughts about this work below, alongside an evocative video and photo gallery from the trip. The film and photos were created by Tucker and Ely Phillips using Leica film cameras and a battery-less 16mm Bolex.

Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects

The farther you go the deeper it gets.

Words by Geoff McFetridge (@mcfetridge); film by Tucker Phillips (@tuckerphillips); photos by Ely Phillips (@elyphillips)

One of the central images in the collection is a figure holding up an object that repels a phalanx of dots. The object connects directly to the figure’s mind. In the drawing, the mind extends out to create a barrier—some way to hold back, edit, filter, pad, repel- unhelpful forces in the outside world.

  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects

Through trail running, cycling or skiing, experiences in the mountains, the outdoors create that barrier. The rhythm of a trip, hesitations, planning, joy, difficulty, moments of discouragement, the eventual reflection, and a sort of athletic interest is an integral part of the Studio. The conditions of creativity extend out into the world but coalesce in the Studio. Experiences are not material for creativity, but they create the conditions for it to thrive.

Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects

A part of this project was planning and doing an off-road, bike-camping trip at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. Tucker Phillips and his brother Ely thought up the plan. They wanted to use Leica film cameras and a battery-less 16mm Bolex to do a film that captures the feeling of these beautiful zones.

  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects

You might have a photo of the fish, but mainly you have the feeling of the fish on your rod, the memory of a place and who you were with.

I try to push projects to have something unique happen that I can take with me. Work that becomes worthy of memory. It is catch and release. You might have a photo of the fish, but mainly you have the feeling of the fish on your rod, the memory of a place and who you were with. Paintings are sold, and projects come and go. The life I live as I do them is equally important. We are clay on a potter’s wheel.

  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects

Find the full Norse Projects x Geoff McFetridge collection over at NorseProjects.com.

Geoff McFetridge

About Geoff McFetridge

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, McFetridge attended the Alberta College of Art and received a MFA in Graphic Design from the California Institute of the Arts in 1995. Settling in Los Angeles, his early work was rooted in the skateboard subculture of the West Coast scene. Geoff is a creative omnivore, working across mediums with large brands, and helping to establish new ones. He has had solo shows galleries around the world. Find more from Geoff @mcfetridge.

  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects
  • Geoff McFetridge x Norse Projects

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