Art carved out of icy adventure
Hearing their fathers' stories about the cold southern seas wasn't enough for artists Ramonda Te Maiharoa and Irene Schroder - they had to experience it for themselves.
A year later and they are holding an art exhibition at the Forrester Gallery which shows their personal journey through ceramic sculptural pieces and digital montages.
Joined by Te Maiharoa's sister Dian, the three women journeyed south in January, 2012, on board polar research vessel Spirit of Enderby, for a momentous 28-day voyage to the Ross Sea and Antarctica.
Te Maiharoa and Schroder, whose lives, though separate, have run a parallel course since childhood in Bluff, described the voyage as "an adventure of a lifetime".
Both were living in Australia and a chance encounter reunited the friends, some 40 years later.
Schroder said their work brought a sense of the immensity of the Antarctic continent with its "wonderful wildlife, amazing landscapes, and incredible stories of the explorers of this vast continent".
"We are excited about the opportunity of portraying this unique wilderness in its pristine beauty and the valour of the men who attempted to conquer it," she said.
"I also never thought I would rave about penguins."
Both Te Maiharoa and Schroder will be involved in a floor talk about their expedition this Friday evening, 6pm, at the gallery.
Postcard from Antarctica opened on Saturday in the Forrester Gallery's Upstairs Galleries and runs until Sunday, March 31. It will be open daily from 10.30am until 4.30pm.
