Exhibition combines art and science
The frozen beauty of Antarctica is coming to Porirua this month.
Artist Gabrielle O’Connor’s latest exhibition, which opens at Pataka on June 19, was created during her 2015 residency on the frozen Ross Sea.
She worked alongside the New Zealand K131 scientific research team as it studied the oceans and ice compositions of Antarctica.
‘‘The aim of the project was to establish an art-science collaboration, where O’Connor’s artistic skills and perspective could help provide a new way of looking at Antarctic research and scientific discovery,’’ Pataka director Reuben Friend said.
Her study of the structures enabled the scientists to build more accurate projections of future ice shelf development.
O’Connor assisted the researchers by scooping fingernail-sized icicles, called platelets, out of the research boreholes drilled into the ice. This prevented the ice holes from freezing over and allowed the scientists to study the size and composition of the frozen platelets.
For the exhibition, Studio Antarctica, O’Connor has taken these delicate platelets and presented them as an installation of photography, painting and drawing, as well as a multichannel video projection and a site specific sculptural work made from packaging tape and light.
Her study of the structures enabled the scientists to build more accurate projections of future ice shelf development.
‘‘During this particular study the researchers found that the platelets were forming in far larger size and quantity than expected,’’ Friend said.
‘‘This has significant effects on the formation of underwater ice volumes and global sea levels,’’
Born in Melbourne, O’Connor studied sculpture at the Victoria College of the Arts before moving to Wellington in 2001. The exhibition at Pataka runs until September 18.