In Pictures: Stephen Vaughan: Ultima Thule, Tullie House Art Gallery, Carlisle, until February 6 2011
Ultima Thule is a term used in ancient history to describe the mysterious northern frontier - a distant unknown region at the extreme limit of exploration and discovery.
2,300 years ago the Greek explorer Pytheas ventured into this mysterious and dangerous realm when he travelled to the edge of the then-known world beyond Britain, towards Iceland and the Arctic Circle.
Now photographer Stephen Vaughan has followed in the footsteps of Pytheas by journeying across the Icelandic landscape to sites that are the nearest equivalent on Earth to the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, and which were used for training lunar astronauts.
The resulting photographs are currently on display at Tullie House. Taken on a cumbersome large-format Gandolfi camera, they reveal landscapes marked by volcanic activity, shifting tectonic plates, vast glaciers and steaming, sulphurous pools.
“My photographs depict some of the rawest and youngest surfaces on Earth, allowing the viewer to imagine the prehistoric beginnings of the landscape, void of any human presence or history," he says.
Ultima Thule is an Impressions Gallery Touring Exhibition.
Ultima Thule is a term used in ancient history to describe the mysterious northern frontier - a distant unknown region at the extreme limit of exploration and discovery.
2,300 years ago the Greek explorer Pytheas ventured into this mysterious and dangerous realm when he travelled to the edge of the then-known world beyond Britain, towards Iceland and the Arctic Circle.
Now photographer Stephen Vaughan has followed in the footsteps of Pytheas by journeying across the Icelandic landscape to sites that are the nearest equivalent on Earth to the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, and which were used for training lunar astronauts.
The resulting photographs are currently on display at Tullie House. Taken on a cumbersome large-format Gandolfi camera, they reveal landscapes marked by volcanic activity, shifting tectonic plates, vast glaciers and steaming, sulphurous pools.
“My photographs depict some of the rawest and youngest surfaces on Earth, allowing the viewer to imagine the prehistoric beginnings of the landscape, void of any human presence or history," he says.
Ultima Thule is an Impressions Gallery Touring Exhibition.
© Stephen Vaughan
© Stephen Vaughan
© Stephen Vaughan
© Stephen Vaughan
© Stephen Vaughan
