Iceberg to Starboard
In 2008, watercolour artist, Alfred Memelink travelled aboard the RV Tangaroa to the Ross Sea. His experience culminated in a collection of large breathtaking watercolour paintings which capture the unique light and wonder of the last wilderness on earth. In 2018 Alfred repeated his journey, adding new paintings to the exhibition of the landscapes a decade later.
In his works, Alfred masterfully represents its fragility and majesty, bleakness and life, its beauty and danger. “The Southern Ocean is the least hospitable ocean in the world and is in effect a great southern storm factory. Antarctica is the windiest, coldest, driest and highest continent in the world.” He says. During the day Alfred worked as an Engineer, often a difficult task in the harsh environment, but in the evenings his cabin transformed into an art studio. Here he painted well into the long light of the polar evenings, often painting scenes that inspired him each day or which lay right outside his porthole. This exhibition aims to both inspire and increase the public’s awareness and understanding of Antarctica, in particular the Ross Dependency.
