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Landscapes of Exploration

The touring exhibition, Landscapes of Exploration, foregrounds the role of contemporary art in examining Antarctica. Ten visual artists, one musician and three writers undertook residencies in the Antarctic between 2001 and 2009, under the auspices of the British Antarctic Survey and supported by Arts Council England. This exhibition brought together for the first time art resulting from their various investigations, offering an opportunity to reflect upon the very different subject matter, media and responses evident in the range of work produced.

The exhibition opened at Peninsula Art Gallery, Plymouth, February/March 2012.

It then toured to the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, in conjunction with Ruskin Gallery, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, October/November 2013 and will be shown at The Gallery, Arts University Bournemouth, Winter 2014/15.

The publication is a consequence of the interdisciplinary scoping research and includes an essay by Emeritus Professor David Walton, British Antarctic Survey as well as examples of work by the 14 artists and writers.

The selection of artists was founded on the inclusion of all those who undertook residencies sponsored by the BAS/ACE programme 2001/9. The selection of work was conducted through studio visits including structured interviews with all the visual artists. Materials derived from the interviews, along with historical and geographical research, forms one basis for Wells’ introductory catalogue essay. A further iteration of the research was presented as a paper at the 4th International Festival and Conference on Antarctic Art and Culture, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September 2012.