Oil on canvas | Vintage 24ct Gold Leaf | Volcanic Ash
Framed.
Embers Beneath the Ice was inspired by my journey to Deception Island in Antarctica, a place that stayed with me long after I left. I was fascinated by its surreal and haunting history, the remains of a once-thriving whaling industry set within such an extraordinary, remote and beautiful landscape. There is something deeply moving about seeing a place marked by such a dark human history slowly reclaimed and transformed by the immense forces of nature. I wanted to capture that contrast in the painting: the cold, vast beauty of the Antarctic alongside a sense of what lies beneath it, and the feeling that the landscape holds memories of everything that has taken place there. The volcanic ash and touches of gold became part of that story, bringing warmth and light into the darker surface and reflecting the way beauty and renewal can emerge from even the darkest of histories.
