New Geography

26.01—18.02.2016
Image–Philip Samartzis

New Geography: Antarctica is predicated on fieldwork undertaken by Philip Samartzis at Casey Station as the 2015/16 Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellow. The inspiration for the project is drawn from two Frank Hurley photographs ‘A Blizzard’ and ‘Leaning on the Wind’ both taken in 1912. In these photographs the ferocious nature of wind is depicted in dramatic circumstances as polar expeditioners struggle against an extreme force of nature – the blizzard. This project seeks to produce an embodied experience of Antarctica by deploying sound recording technologies specifically designed to tolerate the effects of cold in order to document the spatial and temporal flux of polar wind. It seeks to reveal new experiences of the continent though the agency of sound art by using a variety of sound recordings to construct immersive and tactile listening environments. While wind is a commonplace occurrence in Antarctica, its velocity and intensity makes it a difficult, and at times dangerous event to record. The innovation of this project is its capacity to communicate one of the most present and hazardous forces of the polar environment using new recording methodologies to authentically render the soundscape ecology of Antarctica.


Sounds From The Home Of The Blizzard: published 02.03.2016 in RealTime 131