In 2006/07 I was awarded an Antarctic international fellowship sponsored by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Arts Council and spent nearly 3 months living and working in the Antarctic at the BAS base Rothera and refuelling depot Sky Blue. A diary of my experience published weekly as the first 'Artists talking' online for a.n artists information co. while in Antarctica can be read here -a.n blog
I was involved in the day to day workings of the bases which included refuelling twin otters, digging out frozen fuel barrels, recycling paper and plastic, and keeping a natural blue ice runway clear of snow.
My project proposal revolved around the dynamic and transient nature of the Antarctic environment and included film, sound recordings, temporary installations and the building of a glass furnace. Over the time I was there, I became aware of the extraordinary human / environmental interface which came to inform all of the work, and continues to be a source of creative investigation.
‘Wastegloo’ structure, made from igloo offcuts. Building this unstable, precariously balanced structure seemed a more appropriate response to the realities of the environment and the intense emotions it evoked.
