The Project ‘Antarctica’ shows a series of photographs of a voyage to the South Pole. I travelled with a sailing ship which was built in 1911; the same period the last great expeditions left for the unknown continent.
Thoughts of frozen ships trapped in ice-covered seas cross my mind, images of the photographers who joined these expeditions to report of the unexplored. Fascinated by their stories I head for the same circumstances as those of the early twentieth century. A journey of longing, to a time that once was. An heroic saga; filled with hardship and adventure, in an infinite, barren land.
This series of photographs, taken with modern equipment, is a reference to the past. Personally, I feel no need for the photographs to look as if they have been created with techniques of the early 1900’s. This is why I have deliberately chosen to work in colour; allowing the greyscales of the landscape to emphasize the blue captured in ice. In my search for the right images, I have tried to avoid as many elements of the present time as possible; things that would remind me of everyday life.The calm misty weather gives me a sense of desolation and makes the world feel smaller. The slow rate of travelling by sailing ship influences my way of taking photographs: searching for stillness, harmony and tragedy in the landscape. In search of beauty, the beauty of emptiness and cold.
Work from the Antarctica series was chosen as runner up by The Travel Photographer of The Year juryand was published in the TPOTY Journey Twobook. This work along with an additional selection from the Antarctica series was shown during the Landscape Diversity exhibition at Art Gallery Contemporary Matters in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
Werk uit de serie Antarctica heeft een tweede plaats behaald bij de Travel Photographer of the Year en is gepubliceerd in het TPOTY Journey Two book. Dit werk aangevuld met een selectie uit de serie Antarctica was te zien tijdens de Landscape Diversity tentoonstelling in galerie Contemporary Matters in Haarlem.
