DRAWN TO ANTARCTICA
I went to the Antarctic Peninsula in February 2005 for a fortnight in the company of about a hundred passengers on MS Endeavour. It was a ridiculously short visit compared to the time spent travelling there- and an unjustifiable indulgence considering the environmental cost of aviation fuel. Yet I determined to go out of a sense of personal internal necessity. If I hadn’t gone, it would not have been for environmental principals, it would have been because of the infamous bit of water that surrounds it. By going, I was confronting my fear of nausea in order that a new space could open up on the other side.
Antarctica’s proximity made itself felt one morning during the two-day sea journey across Drake Passage when the ship moved across the Antarctic Convergence. The sea temperature dropped suddenly by several degrees and we met cold Antarctic surface water, bringing with it mist, Wandering Albatrosses and icebergs.
A bewildering spatial dimension opened up and has remained open since.
The sequence follows my own journey which began way before I set out and continues through emerging work today.
All the images below are reproduced in Drawn to Antarctica available to purchase on this site.
Antarctica’s proximity made itself felt one morning during the two-day sea journey across Drake Passage when the ship moved across the Antarctic Convergence. The sea temperature dropped suddenly by several degrees and we met cold Antarctic surface water, bringing with it mist, Wandering Albatrosses and icebergs.
A bewildering spatial dimension opened up and has remained open since.
The sequence follows my own journey which began way before I set out and continues through emerging work today.
All the images below are reproduced in Drawn to Antarctica available to purchase on this site.
ANTICIPATION
In anticipating the journey ahead, disparate things come to my attention:
icy shattering of wing mirrors in a gutter
cartography of worn bread board
scored surface of a van made ready for re-spraying
snow patch map on a watering can
gift of silver birch bark from Norway
fragility of blossom on winter concrete
icy shattering of wing mirrors in a gutter
cartography of worn bread board
scored surface of a van made ready for re-spraying
snow patch map on a watering can
gift of silver birch bark from Norway
fragility of blossom on winter concrete
JOURNEY
Wandering albatross: 3.3m wing span
skimming the seas
my sense of scale is confounded
furniture zipping across cabin.
white chinned petrels
wandering albatrosses
roll
lurch
shuddering of endeavour
skimming the seas
my sense of scale is confounded
furniture zipping across cabin.
white chinned petrels
wandering albatrosses
roll
lurch
shuddering of endeavour
ON LOCATION
ART MATERIAL LIST
glue, rubber, 2 light weight boards, brush pen, black ink, oil pastels, acrylic inks
water soluble crayons, water soluble pencils, graphite sticks
SLR film camera
digital camera
plastic sheeting, waterproof trousers, lidded container for palette
PAINTS
watercolour: indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, lemon yellow, cadmium yellow deep, permanent rose, vermillion hue
gouache: white, primary yellow, cerulean
acrylic: white, phthalo blue, cobalt blue
gel mediums
PAPERS
Saunders (NOT)
Bristol 224g (very white) sketchbook
Khadi assorted colours
300g Fabriano cream sketchbook (HP)
papers and foil for collage
chocolate wrappers
rucksack
gloves with flaps
ear patches for sea sickness
glue, rubber, 2 light weight boards, brush pen, black ink, oil pastels, acrylic inks
water soluble crayons, water soluble pencils, graphite sticks
SLR film camera
digital camera
plastic sheeting, waterproof trousers, lidded container for palette
PAINTS
watercolour: indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, lemon yellow, cadmium yellow deep, permanent rose, vermillion hue
gouache: white, primary yellow, cerulean
acrylic: white, phthalo blue, cobalt blue
gel mediums
PAPERS
Saunders (NOT)
Bristol 224g (very white) sketchbook
Khadi assorted colours
300g Fabriano cream sketchbook (HP)
papers and foil for collage
chocolate wrappers
rucksack
gloves with flaps
ear patches for sea sickness
ON REFLECTION
'P.S. I THINK I'LL TRY AND CLEAR UP SOME OF THOSE BLANK SPACES'.
a quotation from a note from Byrd scribbled on a map in October 1932. It is intended for his friend 'Bert', Dr Gilbert H. Grosvenor, then President and Editor of the National Geographic Society's new 1932 map of Antarctica.
I bury a copy of Byrd's note in the lower section of a painting.
Antarctica Territory stamps are embedded in others.
I reflect upon National flags announcing newly acquired bits of territory flapping across the pages of articles about the history of Antarctica.
I think on the miles and miles of shifting ice and all that I din't see.
and remember that
Antarctica was once warm.
a quotation from a note from Byrd scribbled on a map in October 1932. It is intended for his friend 'Bert', Dr Gilbert H. Grosvenor, then President and Editor of the National Geographic Society's new 1932 map of Antarctica.
I bury a copy of Byrd's note in the lower section of a painting.
Antarctica Territory stamps are embedded in others.
I reflect upon National flags announcing newly acquired bits of territory flapping across the pages of articles about the history of Antarctica.
I think on the miles and miles of shifting ice and all that I din't see.
and remember that
Antarctica was once warm.
