listening back to the Arctic in preparation for Antartica

We are now within 10 days of travelling to Argentina and eventually setting sail to Antartica. We go to listen/watch/capture all Antartica life. To make field recordings of the ice, life + all elements present. To search for sounds that will surround us, but may not always be visible/audible to us. 

For those of you who know something about my practice already, you will know that I have spent the last 8 years travelling to some of the world's most isolated locations to listen + record. Each trip brings its own unique challenges. I know this. And actually find it wonderfully humbling to be in such places, where we are not necessarily the dominant species and therefore need to be on heightened alert! However, this particular expedition, which has taken over 7 years to arrange, is trying its best to defeat me...before I ever even begin! We've been on 'high-alert' since Dec. 20th, which is when the expedition team confirmed travel. Since then we have been isolating and cancelling all other in-person professional and personal engagements for fear of contagion and therefore cancellation. All we have to do now is travel from Cork, Ireland to Ushuaia, Argentina without infection and we are good to go!!!!

So, the extra equipment has been purchased, a recording strategy outlined, multiple challenging scenarios played out and daily mantras to remind myself of the things I can and cannot control! if anyone reading would like to throw a few positive vibes our way we'd certainly try to catch them! 

I have never written a biog before, so thought I would start off early and before the trip to try to get-into-the-swing-of-it before anything exciting happens. I also thought that, given I have been trying to get to Antartica since travelling to The Arctic in 2013, I would begin and introduce this blog by referencing this life-altering trip with a slightly weird reflective video that I made way back in 2013 👇. This blog will serve as a kind of diary of recording activities, although it is important to know that I write this as an artist driven by my search for sound.

Many people who have watched can you hear the Arctic (2013) ask; is it a arts documentary, a piece of video art, a reflective public diary? My only answer is that it was created out of necessity, to somehow capture my raw reactions to this journey, my reflections/state of mind fresh after a journey that altered so much. So, I offer you this piece simply by way of introduction to this blog and hope that you will return to see/hear what happens when we reach the other Pole. It is my hope to write once more before leaving and then every few days while in Antartica. Let's see how we get on......

This trip is made possible through Arts Council of Ireland Arts Grant Funding