SVALBARD

In March 2015 a group of artists, and a photographer made a journey to the archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, inside the Arctic Circle: the final destination being a remote lodge, the furthest base north on the planet.

Travelling by snowmobile 110 kilometres north east of the town of Longyearbyen, the challenge was to experience, first hand, an arctic desert; an environment so opposite to the challenges of the Australian desert.

The group worked in situ, regularly moving out into the landscape to glean inspiration and had the good luck to witness a full solar eclipse. To stand on a frozen bay in such isolation and experience this phenomena was truly awe inspiring.

The expected hardship of enduring extreme cold wasn’t a problem: the lodge was warm and comfortable; the challenge was in interpreting the overwhelming power and implacable presence of a landscape in sub-zero conditions.

Judith White 2015