A La Luz: Arctic | Part II
Angela Gilmour
Our blog’s title translates as “spotlight”, or, “to shed light on” a topic. In a new series of features, we’ll hear from artists whose work sheds light on the North – specifically the Arctic, often described as our planet’s thermostat.
Cork based artist Angela Gilmour continues the series, introducing her practice and writing of her 2019 Arctic Circle expedition.
This time last year, I was about to embark upon the trip of a lifetime. Like many of us, I wouldn’t have believed that one year later the world would be in the grip of a pandemic – with many of us confined to our homes.
In the summer of 2019, I embarked upon an expedition to the Arctic Circle as part of an art and science residency. My fellow shipmates included visual artists, writers, filmmakers, poets and performers. I was one of only a few that had a background in science. My first career was as a physicist, before returning to college in 2011 to study a degree in Fine Art at Crawford College of Art and Design at the Cork Institute of Technology.
Since graduation in 2015, I have worked as an artist in residence with many science and education institutions. In the last few years, I have concentrated on how we interact with shorelines. I work mainly with painting, etching and photography to record endangered and fragile landscapes. Much of my work has looked at the shorelines along the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland, where I now live.
Toxic Wednesday 2019 | Etching, 65 x 51cm
Blood Rain Thursday 2019 | Etching, 65 x 51cm
The two etchings above were inspired by actual events which occurred in the United Kingdom on February 28th & 29th 2019: when dust clouds from the Saharan desert (brought by high winds) collided with an Atlantic weather system and air pollution to create the perfect storm. The result was a toxic smog: an orange-red hue hovering over the United Kingdom. The next day, after colliding with the Atlantic storm, the dust and smog were released as blood-red rain. February 28th & 29th 2019 are days now known as Toxic Wednesday and Blood Rain Thursday.
Foreboding Shores 2020 | Etching, 51 x 65cm
Abandoned coal barge in the Arctic Circle
“During our residency in the Arctic, we lived and worked aboard a Barquentine Tall Ship while sailing the waters of the international territory of Svalbard, an Arctic Archipelago just 10 degrees latitude from the North Pole.”
Sailing in the Arctic Circle on the tall ship Antigua
Studying glacier calving
“I was interested in pattern formations on land and sea. Using photography and sketches, along with a daily research journal, I recorded glacier recession and the effects this has on the landscape. Later, I used these as source materials to create oil paintings and etchings.”
The Retreat of Fridtjovbreen 2019 | Oil on wood, 80 x 100cm
Currently Shortlisted for Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition (Oct 2020)
As part of our expedition, we headed to the most northerly science station on Earth at Ny-Ålesund. Here we had the opportunity to discuss the effects of climate change with scientists from the weather station – just part of the group of international researchers based at Ny-Ålesund. Their work involves releasing weather balloons into the atmosphere to coincide with another 1300-or-so released simultaneously around the world, each balloon arriving 12km up at 12noon GMT. The pressure, temperature and humidity-data collected is used to forecast our weather.
The most northerly science station on Earth at Ny-Ålesund
The data is also used to monitor the ozone layer and for other climate research. This process inspired the piece Time Running Out (below) which I exhibited as part of my solo show Arctica: the last Fragments. Dr Mark Jessop (lecturer in Zoology; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork) who had assisted my preparation for the Arctic Circle voyage, gave the opening remarks for the solo show. I was fortunate to visit some of the wildlife sites where Dr Jessop had set up cameras during his research visits to Svalbard. I plan to use the data collected to form future works along with climate data from Ny-Ålesund.
Time Running Out 2019 | Timepiece, vintage thermograph, planetarium schematic screenprint on wood + glass bell jar
Arctica: the Last Fragments | Gallery view, solo show | Science Week Ireland 2019
“Surprisingly the sea ice spread was high in the summer of 2019 and extended much further south than previous years. However, it was explained to me that this is not an indication of recovery but of normal fluctuations in the sea-ice index. On average, the sea-ice spread is reducing but it is also thinning. We are losing the ancient sea ice. ”
80° North, into the Pack Ice 2019 | Oil on wood, 89 x 80cm
The extent of spread was unexpected, the most recent forecast had not prepared us; ice navigation maps are only issued once a week. After leaving Ny-Ålesun and sailing even further north, we were caught out and ended up trapped for almost a day at Dansoy. We were forced to continue towards the North Pole until there was finally a break in the ice enabling us to turn. Compounded with a power outage to the wheelhouse it was an eerie experience. I was reminded of how vulnerable the first explorers really were. The experience inspired the series of works named after Dansoy. Currently Dansoy, the end of Ice is one of the works on show for the recently reopened exhibition Land of Some Other Order at the Lavit Gallery in Cork, Ireland, curated by Paul McAree for the 30th anniversary of the Backwater Artists Studios were I am a member. Along with another work At 80° North, Cracks are Forming.
Dansoy I 2019 | Oil on wood, 23 x 30cm
Dansoy II, Farewell to Ice 2020 | Oil on wood, 30 x 40cm
Dansoy III, the end of Ice 2020 | Oil on wood, 23 x 30cm
Right: At 80° North, cracks are forming 2020 | Oil on wood | Gallery view
Land of Some Other Order at the Lavit Gallery in Cork, Ireland, curated by Paul McAree for the 30th anniversary of the Backwater Artists Studios
“Ironically the weather most of the time was incredibly sunny with record high temperatures across the Arctic. We were even wearing T-shirts some days, which is why most of my paintings from the expedition show such blue skies. This is also the time of year for the midnight sun, 24 hours of daylight.”
Sailing in T-shirts | Record high temperatures in the Arctic Circle
“One of the priorities of our expedition was our part in Ocean Clean Up. Even here, the build up of plastic waste was apparent. We filled bags and bags of waste, including an old TV. Sadly, we found wildlife strangled or suffocated by the debris. What we found was only a small amount of what was yet to be released from the ice over the summer melt.”
My love for the sea and interest in shorelines stems from growing up beside the dockyards in Glasgow, where I was able to observe human interactions with these natural borders. In the last few years, I completed my training as a yacht skipper, allowing me to study the sea and shorelines from a different perspective. Sailing on a tall ship in the Arctic was an extraordinary opportunity; sharing the experience with others with a similar interest in the environment was enlightening. We held nightly presentations, to discuss each other’s work. Since my return, I have been fortunate to take part in both the British and Irish Science weeks to highlight issues of climate change. I was also delighted to be selected by The Auction Collective for the exhibition Green Perspectives (covered by A La Luz) curated by Francesca Wilson. The exhibition was due to show at Candid Arts in London but instead went online during lockdown.
78° North, Sint Johnsforden 2019 | Oil on wood, 28 x 80cm
The Auction Collective for the exhibition Green Perspectives curated by Francesca Wilson
“Since lockdown, I have continued working from the experiences of last year but I have also moved into an experimental phase. The pandemic has been a cruel twist of nature causing so much pain to so many but, perhaps, allowing the Earth to breathe briefly. I imagine like many artists, my work going forward will be affected by this unprecedented event.”
Abstract Arctic June 2020 | Experimenting at Cork Printmakers
Angela will be returning to the Arctic 2021 – sailing on a tallship from Iceland to Greenland to continue her work documenting endangered shorelines. In 2021 she’ll exhibit in Paris as part of the exhibition Women Artists in the Arctic.
All content above © Angela Gilmour | Used with permission
