The Ice Dress was always intended to be contextualised in a landscape far from the gallery. The dress itself was constructed as part of the work that formed my degree show at Bath Spa University in the summer of 1999; the front is cut away so that it can be worn whilst climbing. It is concerned with this juxtaposition between the wilderness and mankind: as creatures we belong, but as 'nerve-shaken, over-civilised people'(John Muir), we do not. When I joined the Millennium Expedition to Antarctica I was determined to contextualise this piece on the Southern Continent but I was then challenged to persuade my 12 fellow team members – all scientists – that 20 kilos of fabric was a worthy freight investment!

 

“The Ice Dress, Christmas Day 1999,” is about the irony of the human presence in the wilderness, looking specifically at the displacement of the figure among mountains and ice-formations.

25th December 1999, Antarctica 2000, 2 x 8 metres, fabric and thread.