Echoes in the Ice Finding Franklin’s Ship A co-production of Gone West Productions and the Canada Science and Technology Museum Echoes in the Ice is unique. For the first time, visual artist and documentary film director Rik van Glintenkamp has used the art of collage to trace historic polar events. The exploration of the Arctic and the Northwest Passage and their history and ecology are told through portraits, profiles and personal effects of the heroic explorers as they created Arctic history. These divergent elements are presented in visually dynamic ways. The technique is similar to the concept of interrelated Web sites. Van Glintenkamp combined the portraits with reproductions of historic diaries, letters, maps, charts, drawings and photographs to create a multi-faceted impression of each explorer. They take the viewer on a visual journey across 400 years of Arctic history and the Northwest Passage, from explorer Martin Frobisher to explorer Roald Amundsen. Lois Steinhardt Exhibition Curator 1 MARTIN FROBISHER #1: The Queen’s Pirate Sir Martin Frobisher (1535–1594) British, pirate, privateer, Arctic explorer Martin Frobisher took up sailing at the age of 19 and became a successful pirate. His exploits were a hindrance to the negotiations of Elizabeth I with Spain. She finally used his rogue abilities in the British Navy. In 1576, Frobisher set out to find a northern passage to China. Maps at that time were vague and incomplete. When he reached two large bodies of land, he thought the northern one must be Asia; the southern one, America. What he found was a 241-kilometre (150-mile) bay running into Baffin Island, in what is now called Nunavut. Inuit kidnapped five of his crew. Frobisher grabbed some mineral samples and sailed for home. Back in England, one of his samples looked like it might contain gold. Greedy merchants sent Frobisher back to the Arctic. This time, he returned with 203 tonnes (200 tons) of ore that proved worthless. Frobisher realized he had found an Arctic bay, not China. He refused to make another voyage to the Arctic. In a time of great maritime enterprise, Frobisher’s adventures, regardless of his motives, brought England into a long period of exploration and discovery. 2 MARTIN FROBISHER #1: The Queen’s Pirate KEY: (clockwise from upper left) Portrait of Inuit woman and child by John White Portrait of Martin Frobisher by the artist Phillip II, King of Spain, artist unknown Elizabeth I, Queen of England, artist unknown Classic image of a pirate Title page of a contemporary published account of Martin Frobisher’s voyages John Dee, navigator, scholar and mystic. Artist unknown. Dee taught Frobisher navigation before his first Arctic journey. Illustration of Frobisher’s ships on the way to the Arctic, artist unknown 3 DR. JOHN DEE: The First 007 Dr. John Dee (1527–1609) British, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, alchemist, occultist, spy John Dee straddled the worlds of science and magic just as they were becoming distinct fields. One of the most learned men of his age, Dee was an ardent promoter of mathematics, a respected astronomer and a leading expert in navigation of the little-known world. In one of several papers he wrote in the 1580s encouraging expeditions to search for the Northwest Passage, he coined the term “British Empire.” He also trained many of those who would lead England’s voyages of discovery. When Elizabeth I selected the pirate Martin Frobisher to explore the Arctic and the Northwest Passage, she placed him in Dee’s hands for training in navigation. Eventually, Dee became court astrologer and spy for Elizabeth I. As an agent of the Crown, he conducted secret missions against Spain. He relished his espionage duties, creating elaborate, sophisticated and secret ciphers. In his correspondence with the Queen, he signed his communiqués 007. The double 0s represented Dee’s eyes. Author Ian Fleming would later assign the number to his famous fictional spy James Bond. 4 DR. JOHN DEE: The First 007 KEY: (clockwise from upper right) Chart used by Martin Frobisher when he crossed the North Atlantic Ocean Frobisher’s ship Gabriel Sean Connery as agent 007 Painting of John Dee demonstrating alchemy for Elizabeth I Dee’s crystal ball Vintage portrait of Dee Drawing of the 007 sign by Dee Vintage portrait of Frobisher Photographic portrait of Ian Fleming, creator of the fictional 007 5 CAPTAIN COOK: Likes To Talk About Longitude James Cook (1728–1779) British, explorer, Royal Navy officer, navigator, cartographer Captain James Cook is credited with discovering and mapping vast tracts of coastline and remote islands from Newfoundland to Antarctica. In Cook’s time, determining longitude was vital in creating accurate maps and locating the position of a vessel at sea. During his first voyage, Cook relied on his superior navigational skills to make precise longitudinal measures. During his second voyage of discovery to the South Seas and Antarctic Circle, he tested the accuracy of newly invented chronometers in determining longitude. Cook was called out of retirement to lead his third and final voyage – with a secret purpose of finding the Northwest Passage. Success in such a goal would establish Cook as more of a legend than he already was and would make his fortune. While he did not reach his goal, Captain Cook’s earlier achievements remain legendary. 6 CAPTAIN COOK: Likes To Talk About Longitude KEY: (clockwise from left) Vintage portrait of William Wales, the astronomer aboard Cook’s ship the HMS Resolution Map of Antarctica as it was known in the 1700s, in front of Wales Small vintage portrait of Leonhard Euler, one of the outstanding mathematicians of the 1700s. His pioneering work helped seamen make lunar distances a viable method of finding longitude at sea. Vintage engraving of Captain James Cook by John Webber Painting of the Resolution’s crew by John Webber, 1784 (centre) Detail of a painting of John Harrison by Thomas King, 1766. His hand is holding an early pocket watch. Harrison invented the chronometer – a clock that told perfect time at sea. 7 JOHN ROSS: His Artistic Side Sir John Ross (1777–1856) British, Arctic explorer, artist, writer Due to space restrictions aboard ships in the nineteenth century, many officers doubled as sketch artists. Until photography was used, their sketches were later developed into engravings, creating visual records of the expeditions. John Ross, for example, painted and sketched on his voyages to the Arctic. Ross went to sea at the age of nine. In 1818, he received the command of an Arctic expedition organized by the British Admiralty, the first of a new series of attempts to solve the question of a Northwest Passage to the Orient. In 1829, Ross convinced his friend Sir Felix Booth (of Booth’s Gin) to finance a second expedition. He left on the Victory, a side-wheel steamship. Ross sailed past Lancaster Sound to a previously unexplored area, where his ship became beset with ice. While the expedition was stranded for four years, they explored the regions to the west and north, with the help of local Inuit. On one of these explorations, Ross and his nephew James Clark Ross reached the magnetic north pole. 8 JOHN ROSS: His Artistic Side KEY: (left to right) Portrait of Sir James Saumarez, first Baron de Saumarez (1757–1836). He was an Admiral of the Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras Bay. Ross assisted Saumarez in writing his memoirs. Portrait of Sir John Ross, circa 1830, artist unknown First Communication with the natives of Bothea Felix by John Ross, about Ross’ first encounter with Inuit Detail of an engraving from a sketch of crewmen in a boat encountering ice, by John Ross (background) Satellite images representing the continuous aurora distribution above Canada’s Arctic. Trond S. Trondsen took the images constituting this mosaic with the Canadian UV Auroral Imager on board the Swedish FREJA satellite for the University of Calgary’s Institute for Space Research. 9 WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY Sir William Edward Parry (1790–1855) British, Arctic explorer, rear admiral Parry entered the navy at the age of 13. He made his first voyage to the Arctic in 1818 to search for the Northwest Passage, under James Clark Ross. He was later put in command of an expedition (1819–1820) to again search for the Northwest Passage. As he sailed westward, he named Melville Island and Barrow Strait, among other places. Parry made two other unsuccessful attempts to find the Northwest Passage (1821–1823, 1824–1825). By discovering the entrance to the Passage and the way to the north magnetic pole, Parry also found important whaling grounds. In 1827, he attempted to reach the North Pole by sledge from Spitsbergen (now part of Norway), attaining latitude 82°45 N. He was forced to turn back due to the fatigue of the exploring party. The crater Parry on the moon was named after him, as was Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. 10 WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY KEY: (clockwise from top left) Portrait of Sir William Parry by the artist, 2009 Painting of members of the Arctic council by Stephen Pearce. The council was a group of British Arctic explorers convened to plan how to find the Franklin expedition. Engraving of the HMS Hecla and Griper in winter quarters at Melville Island, 1821 Portrait of George Lyon by the artist, 2008. Lyon served under Parry as commander of the Hecla. Drawing of an Inuit man and woman waiting to kill a walrus through holes in the ice, by George Lyon for Parry’s journal, 1824 (centre) Portrait of John Barrow by John Jackson, 1810.