Want to learn more about seal wallows, mass spectrometers, katabatic winds, iceberg formations and the ‘A’ factor? Margo Foster — one of the AAD’s Arts Fellows — recently spent six weeks on board the Aurora Australis, braving heavy seas, fierce winds and curious wildlife. Along the way she recorded the sounds of ship life and the excitement of three brief stopovers at Mawson, Casey and Macquarie Island. Sounds include the ‘song’ of the ship stabilisers, the crunching of sea ice, whirring helicopters and wallowing seals. Margo will use the sounds of Antarctica for a series of specialised projects including a radio documentary and a soundscape for the Macquarie Island House at the Tasmanian Royal Botanical Gardens.
Also on board was teacher and childrens’ author/illustrator, Alison Lester. Her Arts Fellow project involves drawing and painting Antarctic scenes and encouraging school children across Australia to draw images of Antarctica based on her emailed descriptions. The drawings will form part of a travelling exhibition of paintings called Kids’ Antarctic Art.