THE VOYAGE

LAURA SMALLWOOD

Research Images

Overview of Research

shirt and tie to go walking/boating. This sense of main-taining one’s appearance at all times is very endearing, and is a trait that I find inspiring.

These two photographs show my Grandfather. I have always been fond of them, as I feel they give a sense of his char-acter, and there is a real at-mosphere surrounding them. I love that he is dressed in a

TED

The Inspiration

THE CONCEPT

Great expeditions to The South Pole and The Antarctic at the beginning of the twenti-eth century showcased the best and most appropriate attire at the time for tackling the severe conditions of these uncharted environments.

When looking at this gear, it is understandable to see why many expeditions were ill-fated. The explorers were unsuitably dressed and prepared to deal with their harsh surroundings.

Old family photographs from the same time also illustrate a notion of being inappropriately dressed and prepared in one’s surroundings; formal costume was worn for climbing and other outdoor pursuits. In this case, the result is more comi-

cal, as the individuals seem completely juxtaposed to their background.

‘The Voyage’ was born out of the photographic evidence of these two related areas of research. Shapes and tex-tures from adventures like The Terra Nova Expedition are exaggerated; this inflated manipulation of scale being inspired by my grandfather’s amusing and impractical mountaineering attire.

‘The Voyage’ expands on the inappropriate and amus-ing effect of this fragile and sometimes dangerous bal-ance between preparation and exploration.

THE VOYAGELAURA SMALLWOOD