The Heroic Age
The Rock Foundation
Explorers of the Heroic Age of Exploration - a period of Antarctic exploration from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 1920’s - have been described as the astronauts of their day, travelling to entirely unknown and inhospitable lands with no modern navigational or mechanical assistance to help keep them safe. Scott’s teams, in particular, led the way for scientific study and data gathered on these very first expeditions is still used as baseline data in research today.
“Science - the rock foundation of all effort”
Impermianence
Glossopteris
“A century ago, Captain Scott and his team set out on a doomed race to be first to the South Pole. They failed in this quest - but that wasn't all they were doing in this mysterious ice-bound land. It is an expedition best known for its failure - not only did a Norwegian rival beat Captain Robert Scott to the South Pole, but his five-man team died on the return journey. Found in the tent alongside their frozen bodies were 16kg (35lb) of fossils… The dying explorers thought these too valuable to jettison, even though lightening their load could have played a part in the life and death struggle after weeks of travelling in temperatures below -37C (-35F).” Megan Lane, BBC
One fossil in particular - that of Glossopteris, dating back to the Permian era, turned out to be the final piece of a puzzle that proved the theory of continental drift - that Antarctica had once been part of an ancient super-continent named Gondwana. Polar historian, David Wilson called it, “A seminal moment… It helped us change our geological understanding of the planet.”
Symphony
“Taking inspiration from Ponting’s famous ‘Grotto in a Berg’ photograph... Royal Marine lectures onboard HMS Protector on the dangers of wind-sculpted ice cornices and Edward Wilson’s beautiful sketches of Hoar Ice Crystals, the work explores the concept of mass balance - that incomprehensively powerful yet ultimately vulnerable cycle of snow accumulation and iceberg calving, making use of scale and perspective to merge profiles, coastlines and elements into one visual journey.”
Grit
“It is easy to imagine when one considers the blubber fire, which often smokes... what our faces and hands are like. Few of us would be recognised if we were suddenly transported to our family circles...”
‘Grit’ is a work inspired by the crew of Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition, part of The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition - an epic story of leadership, comradeship and determination to survive in the harshest of environments. The seeds of the project were planted back in February 2016, when Lucy first saw expedition photographer, Frank Hurley's glass plate negatives at The Enduring Eye exhibit at The Royal Geographical Society. She had recently learnt about a technique called Verre églomisé, which allowed her to utilise materials associated with Hurley's photographic process - glass, silver and gelatine. The resulting works are inspired by portraits of the 28 men, the antarctic landscape they endured and the incredible descriptions of the men's living conditions, particularly of the 'snuggery' on Elephant Island, where Hurley's makeshift stove helped keep the men alive.
Expedition meteorologist, Leonard Hussey's banjo playing proved crucial in keeping up the spirits of the stranded men throughout their ordeal and Hussey wrote, “Sir Ernest saved the banjo just before the ship sank saying, 'We must have that banjo if we lose all our food, it's vital mental medicine.’”
Music by Benji Flaming
Read more about this project in an article written by Lucy for Letters From the Ends of the Earth
Listen to Lucy talk about this work and her experience as Antarctic Artist in Residence for the Friends of the Scott Polar Resesarch Institute on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row (at 24:29mins)
A Literary Feast
“The novel alleviates a hungry appetite”
