With the support of the Southland Arts Foundation, de Wagt was fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to join the 15-day round trip from Dunedin to the sub-Antarctic Islands and back aboard the ship Le Soleal, as artist on board.
The resulting art works will be showcased in de Wagt’s exhibition ‘‘Dunedin to Dunedin: Via the Subantarctic’’, which will run from April 10-23 at Gallery de Novo, 101 Lower Stuart St.
Operated by Ponant cruises, a French company operating a fleet of luxury expedition vessels, Le Soleal was built in 2013 specifically as an expedition ship for trips to the sub-Antarctic Islands.
Known for her regular forays into the South Island wilderness to paint on location, de Wagt jumped at the chance to employ her techniques while painting in some of the most remote places on Earth.
‘‘I was absolutely thrilled to get the chance to visit the sub-Antarctic Islands, and the crew and passengers aboard Le Soleal were amazing — I encountered more professors per square inch than I ever have in my life’’ de Wagt said.
‘‘I was a bit worried that as an artist I might not measure up, but the scientists I met were just as interested in my expertise,’’ she said.
‘‘There’s a lot of walking on the trip, but one of my main concerns was being nimble enough to make the transfer from Le Soleal to the Zodiacs we used to land on the islands,’’ she said.
‘‘Given the sub-Antarctic Islands are mostly in the ‘Furious Fifties’ [50-60 degrees latitude in the Southern Ocean], the ocean could be pretty rough, which made those transfers tricky.
‘‘The La Soleal vessel and crew are very safety and environmentally conscious though, so everything was fine.’’
On board de Wagt spent as much time on deck painting, using acrylics, in a spot mostly sheltered from the weather — sometimes on hands and knees.
‘‘It was a bit difficult to get my paintings to dry, so at times they were all spread out under the grand piano in the lounge,’’ she said.
de Wagt took large sheets of paper and also wood cut into the shape of Le Soleal, upon which she would paint as the vessel sailed past the islands.
Some of her paintings depict the rough seas and monochrome nature of the light in the Southern Ocean, while others feature the penguins and sea lions she saw on-shore.
‘‘The focus of the expedition was on flora and fauna, so I got to see some incredible things — such as the mega herbs, which were amazing.’’
‘‘As only 1500 people are permitted to set foot on New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic Island, I feel very privileged to have had the chance to visit some of them, and also Australia’s Macquarie Island.’’
De Wagt soaked up as much information as she could from her fellow passengers, many of who were experts in an array of scientific fields.
‘‘I learned so much from the other passengers and from the experience itself — I have enough material to keep me going for years,’’ she said.
‘‘The history of the islands was fascinating, and I think that this will be the focus of my next series of works.
‘‘One thing is for sure, visiting the sub-Antarctic Islands really alters your way of thinking about the world and the environment.
‘‘It is so important that they and the creatures that live there are protected.’’
Janet de Wagt will give a short talk about her trip aboard Le Soleal at the opening of the exhibition this Friday, April 10, at 5pm at Gallery de Novo.
