14 July 2011– January 2012

In July 2011 the National Maritime Museum (NMM), in collaboration with United Visual Artists (UVA) and Cape Farewell, presents High Arctic, an expedition experience.

It’s 2100 AD and the Arctic landscape we once took for granted has changed forever. How will we choose to remember our Arctic past? Is it possible to travel somewhere that no longer exists? Set in one of many possible futures High Arctic conveys the scale, beauty and fragility of our unique Arctic environment through an immersive installation which encourages us to question our relationship with the world around us.

In September 2010 UVA’s Matt Clark travelled with the arts and climate science foundation Cape Farewell to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, which lies between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Sailing aboard The Noorderlicht, a 100-year old Dutch schooner, Matt’s trip brought him into contact with scientists, poets, musicians and polar bears. He saw vast tundra, monochromatic rainbows and huge chunks of ice falling from calving glaciers. Conceived as a response to the expedition, High Arctic uses a combination of sound, light and sculptural forms to create an abstracted arctic landscape for visitors to explore.

An exhibition with no touchscreens, no static photographs, and no panels with text: instead High Arctic is a genuinely immersive, responsive environment. Ultraviolet torches unlock hidden elements, constantly shifting patterns of graphics and text that react to visitors approaching; an archipelago of thousands of columns fills the gallery space, each representing a real glacier in Svalbard; an artificial horizon borders the gallery as a seamless canvas of light, shifting in intensity and colour. A Max Eastley and Henrik Ekeus-designed generative soundscape flows through the gallery, weaving in the voices of arctic explorers across the centuries as well as the poetry of Nick Drake who travelled with Matt to Svalbard.

High Arctic is the first time UVA have taken on a commission of this size and scale in the UK and is the first time the NMM has showcased a work of this kind. UVA are an award winning art and design practice who work at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, live performance, moving image and digital installation; with expertise in fine art, architecture, communication design, moving image, computer science and engineering. UVA’s work has been exhibited at institutions including the V&A, the Royal Academy of Art, the Southbank Centre, the Wellcome Collection, Opera North Leeds, Durham Cathedral and The British Library. Cape Farewell’s aim is to inspire a cultural response to the climate challenge and engage artists as catalysts to provoke a cultural shift towards sustainable society. Other artists that have been engaged in the Cape Farewell programme include Antony Gormley, Jarvis Cocker and Ian McEwan – whose recent novel Solar was inspired by the 2005 Cape Farewell Arctic expedition.

High Arctic is the first exhibition in the NMM’s new Sammy Ofer Wing, a £35m capital build which enables the organisation to present its collections, events and exhibitions in an entirely new way.

Exhibition information for visitors

Venue: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Dates: 14 July 2011–January 2012
Opening times: daily, 10.00–17.00 (closed 25-26 December)
Visitor enquiries: 020 8312 6565
Admission: Full £6.50 / Concession £5.00 / Children £4.50

Notes to Editors

• The National Maritime Museum – the largest museum of its kind in the world – is housed in historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. It incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and 17th-century Queen’s House. The Museum works to illustrate for everyone the importance of the sea, ships, time and the stars and their relationship with people. The Museum welcomes over 1.5 million British and international visitors a year and is also a major centre of education and research. For more information visit www.rmg.co.uk
• Established in 2003, United Visual Artists are an art and design practice based in London. UVA produce work at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, live performance, moving image and digital installation. UVA’s team members come from many disciplines including fine art, architecture, communication design, moving image, computer science and engineering. The cross-pollination of diverse skills inspires new fields of exploration, which is core to their ethos. Pushing the boundaries of research, software and engineering with every project, UVA’s work aims above all to be meaningful and engaging. UVA’s work has been exhibited at institutions including the V&A, the Royal Academy of Art, the South Bank Centre, the Wellcome Collection, Opera North Leeds, Durham Cathedral and The British Library. Their artworks have also toured internationally to cities including Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Yamaguchi, Taipei, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Barcelona. UVA also have large scale permanent art works in Toronto and Istanbul. UVA’s designs for live performance have led to commissions at venues such as the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, Madison Square Garden in New York and Trafalgar Square, London. UVA have also collaborated with musicians including Massive Attack, JayZ, U2, Chemical Brothers and Battles. In 2007, UVA’s responsive light and sound sculpture Volume won a yellow pencil at the D&AD awards, and featured in the London Design Museum’s ‘Design of the Year’ show in 2008. Speed of Light was also featured in the London 'Design of the Year' exhibition, showing the best designs of 2010. UVA were awarded a distinction for their kinetic installation Chorus at the 2010 edition of Prix Arts Electronica.
• Cape Farewell is internationally recognised for pioneering a cultural response to the climate challenge. Through an innovative programme of exploration, creation and public engagement, Cape Farewell harnesses the affective power of the creative sector, inspiring artists across all media to participate in the most profound issue of our times and create metaphors and narratives to communicate the impact of climate change on a human scale. For the past 10 years, Cape Farewell has brought artists and scientists together on a series of sailing expeditions to the High Arctic, stimulating interdisciplinary dialogue and the creation of artistic work founded in scientific research. As the climate agenda evolves, the range and impact of Cape Farewell’s activity evolves too. Their lens of enquiry now shifts from the Arctic to local frontiers, sustainable island communities and urban society, recognising that living with the ‘condition’ of climate change requires participation in issues of social justice and innovation, economic stratagems, new technologies and notions of community. Their 2011 Scottish Islands expedition investigates local, sustainable solutions for adapting to urgent environmental and economic changes, and challenges artists to generate images and narratives that engage communities in the discussion and design of their own futures. Working in partnership with other organisations and universities across England and beyond, they develop practice-based research programmes, publish and disseminate their work through exhibitions, events, festivals and digital media, and are always exploring the role of the contemporary artist as an agent of change in our evolving culture. Engaging artists as catalysts to provoke a cultural shift towards ecological thinking and sustainability.
• Nick Drake was born in 1961. He lives and works in London. His first book-length collection, The Man in the White Suit, was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, and won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 1999. His first novel, Nefertiti: the Book of the Dead, was published by Bantam in 2006. His most recent projects include a stage adaptation of Philippe Petit’s To Reach the Clouds and a screenplay for the film Romulus, My Father. His most recent collection, From the Word Go, was published in 2007. Nick Drake took part in the 2010 Cape Farewell expedition alongside Matt Clark.

For further information or images, please contact:
Sheryl Twigg or Jenny Stewart
National Maritime Museum Press Office
Tel: 020 8312 6790/6732 | 07903 547 268 or Email: press@rmg.co.uk