As I prepare for my first trip to Antarctica, now just weeks away, my mind is abound with visions of all the possible permutations of white. My imagination is confounded by the seemingly obvious fact that I cannot know this place in any capacity until I am fully there, feet planted solidly on the ground, eyes absorbing the view of vast ice deserts, breath taking in the cold air.
The existence of Antarctica was first predicted by the ancient mathematician, astronomer and geographer, Ptolemy (1st century AD), who claimed that there must be a southern landmass to balance the North Pole. He named it terra incognita, “unknown land,” and amazingly it would be approximately 1600 years before its existence would be confirmed. According to history, Antarctica was first officially sited by humans in 1820. Thus, the continent has been an invisible and mysterious place to us humans for the majority of our existence. I find this a rather stunning truth. We had, in fact, peered deep into the universe with telescopes long before we had ever seen the 7th continent on our Earth.
Antarctica is entirely extreme, being the coldest and windiest continent on our planet. It is also the driest climate, making Antarctica the largest desert on Earth. It is roughly 4.5 million square miles (14 million square kilometers) in size, which is about the size of the contiguous 48 United States plus about half of Mexico. There are no permanent residents on Antarctica, and even during the “busiest” of science research seasons, there are still only several thousand people on the continent at one time, and they are spread out across 16 research stations operated by various countries for scientific and educational purposes.
For the last four years, I have been reading and absorbing all I can find about Antarctica, and have, rather obsessively, explored this mysterious and remote continent through images, facts, stories and my imagination. Yet, I am awed by the knowing that the true essence of Antarctica remains firmly and deeply unknown to me. Indeed, what could possibly prepare someone for a journey to the only naturally uninhabitable continent on Earth?
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Happy New Year Erika!
I have been following your journey into unknown and feel compelled to write. Please know that I am thinking about your project and wishing much success and hearing about your personal experiences through the exploration.
You may not remember me but I was one of the first Diverseworks artist retreat participants held in Houston. You have given me some good advice at the retreat and I have been diligently working on it. And, it is working!
All the best to you and to the Project! Stay well,
Mari
Erika – Terra Incognita was also to refer to lands and land masses that had not been mapped. How absolutely appropriate that the Polar Project will document the sounds, views and light of certain parts of the Polar Regions. Your project may result in the most precise documentation of parts of the Polar regions.
Best wishes in 2009. I’m looking forward to your blog, but as you may guess, I look forward most to the exquisite art that will be produced.
What a wonderful adventure. I used to work at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, but have since moved to Colorado. I thought you’d be interested in the organization where I work. It’s called LightHawk, and we use aeriel photography to showcase and change environmental issues (persuasion without words). See: http://www.lighthawk.org/annualreports/LightHawkAR07.pdf. and best of luck!
Tamara
Erika:
Best of luck with your expedition – you must be into your final preparations now! As an artist myself I can appreciate what a fantastic and unique opportunity this is. I’m a fan of your work and look forward to see what comes out of this latest adventure.
Take care,
T.J.
Hooray!