Two centuries ago, the spectacular alien majesty of Antarctic ice looming up in the great Southern Ocean must have been a revelation to the crew on Captain James Cook’s second Pacific voyage (1772-1775).
Nevertheless shipboard artist William Hodges struggled to paint it. Recent X-rays have revealed that he painted over what was significantly the first eyewitness oil study of icebergs, in favour of the more comfortable pastoral aesthetic of a New Zealand landscape. Perhaps, like so many artists since, he felt inadequate to the task of representing or even interpreting his experience (and so marked the canvas be put to better use). Nature is at her most domineering in the remote ice regions. Visually spellbinding, treacherous and symbolically resonant, they wield an equally primitive and ethereal power; hence the fascination and unrelenting frustration for artists.
The challenge is even greater today. From panorama to minutia, the best photographic records are of ravishing quality and widely published, producing a minefield of travel-brochure perfection. The threat posed by global warming has further intensified the demand for meaningful responses as humankind looks to the poles to herald climate change. Visual artists are therefore negotiating more distinctive ways to express the feelings of awe, respect, and protectiveness these virgin environments engender.
Image above: Elaine Campaner, Icebreaker, 2006. Archival inkjet print, 103.5 x 140.5cm
Image below: Alison Lester with Kalani, Beset, 2007. Inkjet printed images on watercolour paper, hand coloured with watercolour, pencil, gouache, 45 x 30 cm
Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie, 1A First Street, Booragul 2284 View in Google Maps
1A First Street , Booragul 2284