Deception Island: A drawing project

Abstract

This design research thesis primarily uses drawing to understand, interpret and analyse the decaying structures at Whalers Bay on Deception Island in Antarctica. The drawing method and chosen site is used to aid and facilitate an understanding of relevant issues of climate change. The historic whaling site on Deception Island has had a long history of human habitation and natural disaster, located on a restless island volcano within the harsh Antarctic climate. This thesis explores art, installation design and interior architecture projects relevant to the relationships between humanity and the changing climate. The series of drawings produced develop through scale. Navigating between the genres of art and science, they highlight relationships between context, the site itself and the structures on its shores; referencing their connections to humanity, politics and the environment. The fundamental properties within the drawings are the grid, movement, change, composition, imperfection, framing, time and perspective.

The proposed temporary installation, developed through a drawn analysis of the site, injects itself within the decaying buildings, substantially damaged by the natural effects of time, the extreme climatic conditions and volcanic eruptions. The installation provides access to the forbidden and derelict interiors of these structures allowing occupants to witness the deterioration of the interior, illustrating the strength of our environment and the devastating effects it can have within our precious and protected 'interiors'. It aims to both visually and emotionally educate people about the threat that human-induced climate change poses to our comfortable lifestyle, propositioning itself as a visual measurement of change.