Artist Who Dyed Geyser Refuses To Pay Fine, Leaves Country

The artist who made headlines dyeing the geyser Strokkur pink will not pay the fine he was issued, and has reportedly left the country.

RÚV reports that Marco Evaristti, the artist who dumped red dye into the geyser Strokkur, has been fined 100,000 ISK by the police. He is charged with breaking the Nature Conservation Act.

He is, however, a free man, and MBL reports he is not only leaving the country today; he also has no intention of paying the fine. He says he spoke to a lawyer on the matter.

Marco told reporters that he felt the installation was “very beautiful”, adding, “I was very conscious of not harming the environment the entire time.” In fact, the colour disappeared from the geyser within hours and no permanent damage appears to have been done.

In addition, Marco told Vísir the installation itself had an environmental message.

“I want people to see what is happening to the environment,” he told reporters. “I want them to realize that the soap they buy in stores harms the environment. All these cars and buses that go to the Geysir area every day damage the environment, not the food colouring I use.”