B.

An exhibition of ceramics by Raewyn Atkinson, inspired by her recent visit to Antarctica.

The sculptures in this installation were inspired by the Antarctic. New Zealand artist Raewyn Atkinson visited this cold, vast continent in 2000 and 2003, becoming fascinated by stories of early explorers and the traces of history they left behind. Her work looks at the gap between Antarctica as an experienced reality and as an imagined, often romanticised, landscape.

The title of the exhibition refers to the brand of lamp oil that explorer Robert Falcon Scott took on his fatal 1910–12 expedition to the South Pole. It also acknowledges the Homelight publication produced at Scott Base by the first New Zealand Antarctic Arts Fellows – Bill Manhire, Chris Orsman and Nigel Brown.

Born in Napier in 1955, Raewyn Atkinson is one of New Zealand's leading ceramic artists. She has received several major art awards for her work, including the Premier Prize in the 2004 Portage Ceramic Awards, and was Antarctic Arts Fellow in 2000. She exhibits regularly around the world.