Into Ocean & Ice

Five artists interpret the remote cool South, taking in Ernest Shackleton’s failed yet epic Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-1917) to the Weddell and Ross seas, and modern-day South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the climate crisis has glaciers on the run and biodiversity experts worried.

Into Ocean & Ice showcases the work of four emerging Aotearoa artists—Tegan Allpress (Rongowhakaata), Peregrin Hyde (Ngāti Maniapoto), Rose Lasham, and Charlie Thomas—who journeyed to South Georgia in 2023 with the Antarctic Heritage Trust's Inspiring Explorers Expedition™, in the centenary year of Shackleton’s final polar expedition on which he died. Through photography, paintings, illustrations, ceramics and interactive elements, their artwork explores the immensity of this wildlife-rich gateway to Antarctica.

Meanwhile in another hemisphere, Italian painter Paola Folicaldi Suh found inspiration in photos by Frank Hurley, the photographer who documented Shackleton's Endurance voyage. In 1914, trapped in pack ice, the ship sank, yet Shackleton's heroic 36-hour trek over South Georgia’s glaciers ensured his crew’s survival. Folicaldi Suh’s large-scale paintings immerse viewers into Shackleton’s journey, offering a glimpse into this epic tale of survival.