Artwork by Mick Brennan and Vivien Hillocks

What happens when two artists, their sketchbooks and cameras head off for once in a lifetime trip to the frozen continent?

While on board a modern cruise ship it is hard to imagine the hardships of the adventurers and scientists that explored the region. Just over 100 years earlier in 1820, Bellingshausen crossed the Antarctic Circle; the following day he became the first person to set foot on Antarctica and now here we were following in their footsteps.

Mick and Viv’s responses to this awe-inspiring landscape form the backdrop for the exhibition; yet capturing the experience is complex. Taking pictures is easy, drawing the snow covered mountains that tumble into the sea is easy, as is sketching wildlife, but distilling the essence of the place is much more challenging.

Rough seas, bitter cold, howling winds, serene stillness, lots of colour then none – and always the ever changing ice. These are the memories that stick vividly in our heads. Our works in the exhibition are expressions of those memories through a variety of media.