Arctic Inspired Exhibition Opens at North Down Museum

A new art exhibition entitled High Latitudes opened at North Down Museum, Bangor on Thursday 16 January. The exhibition celebrates the fragile beauty of the Arctic while exploring the historical and environmental links between Northern Ireland and the High Arctic.

High Latitudes is a collection of paintings by County Down artists Julie Wilson and Susan Moody, inspired by the dramatic landscape and wildlife of Svalbard in the High Arctic, an area close to the North Pole that is under threat due to the environmental impact of climate change. Each of the artists has travelled in Svalbard and the exhibition draws on the sights and experiences of their own polar adventures.

Speaking about the exhibition, Comber-based artist Julie Wilson said:

“The High Arctic is a place of epic natural beauty but also of physical extremes and I have tried to capture that in my paintings. It is a frozen wilderness where polar bears outnumber humans; where temperatures plummet to -40; and where the sun sets for a full four months each year.

I have always felt a magnetic pull towards the North. Svalbard challenged me on so many levels in terms of physicality, its scale, its isolation and harshness, but also its fragility and the emotional response that it prompted in me. For me this exhibition is my love song to the majestic, haunting beauty of the Arctic.”

Both artists were inspired by the spirit of those individuals who took part in early polar exploration, including Northern Ireland’s own Francis Crozier and the 1st Marquess of Dufferin from whose book Letters from High Latitudes (his account of sailing to Svalbard in 1856) the exhibition takes its name.

Artist Susan Moody said:

“Both of us feel very keenly what a privilege it has been to get to visit this unique environment and see these awe-inspiring sights that really very few people get to witness at first hand. I think for each of us the experience has left an indelible mark.  But for me in particular my personal moment of awe was encountering a polar bear in the wild and getting to watch and observe it.  Those are the moments that will stay with me for a lifetime, and I’ve tried to capture that sense of awe and wonder in my paintings.”

Arlene Matthews, North Down Museum’s Manager commented:

“This exhibition captures the dichotomous nature the Artic. An extreme, harsh and unyielding environment yet also beautiful, fragile and captivating. Julie and Susan’s works deliver a powerful message about the threat that climate change poses to the most vulnerable and unique environments in our world”.

The High Latitudes exhibition opens at the North Down Museum in Bangor on 16 January and will run until 6 April. Admission is free.

For more information CLICK HERE

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