Jörg Schmeisser – etchings from Breaking the Ice: Works from the Antarctic

(30 May – 19 July 2008)
See: Opening times for the exhibition and the Museum

Jörg Schmeisser voyaged south in 1998 under the auspices of the Australian Antarctic Division's Antarctic Arts Fellowship. Among many influences, he was also inspired by his research in Sydney's Mitchell Library, looking in particular at drawings by William Hodges, the artist who accompanied Captain James Cook into the Southern Seas in the 1770s. The immensity of the land and the bravura recording in sketchbooks proved a rich source of inspiration and this exhibition of works on paper represents the culmination of a major body of work, in an exceptional career.

Schmeisser travelled on the icebreaker Aurora Australis on its annual re-supply trip to Mawson and Davis stations, and while on board made numerous etchings and drawings, photos and video recordings, many of which were developed further as he explored the intricate beauties of the frozen continent and the ice that surrounds it.

Variations of this exhibition have been hosted in many locations around the world – beginning in Tasmania and later showing in public galleries and Embassies in Japan, Berlin, Venice, and the United States – and now it finishes this remarkable journey, appropriately, at the Scott Polar Research Institute.

Formerly Head of Printmaking at the Canberra School of Art, The Australian National University, Schmeisser has recently retired as Professor at the Kyoto City University of Art.