“Philippe Boisonnet writes to from his home in Montreal, Canada, about his experience of Antarctica: 'En perdre le nord (To Loose One’s North Star) is a metaphorical representation of the way in which the traditional image of the “Earth-Mother” is becoming an “Earth-Child” in our collective conscience.' In 2008 I meet Philippe and his wife Lorraine Beaulieu in Buenos Aires, where we all contributed to the Festival and Exhibition, Sur Polar: Arte en Antartida, curated by Andrea Juan. Through our art works and presentations we shared stories about our times in Antarctica. Lorraine's images of Antarctica as a woman (herself) inspired the animation, Turning Cycle. I find the music to complete the animation another time this year, as scientist Rupert Summerson plays the shakuhachi (Japanese flute) in an empty hall in Christchurch. We had just heard readings of Antarctic poetry, including Bill Manhire's Erebus Voices. Rupert improvised his response to seeing a work by artist Connie Samarus, in which an Antarctic seal emerges and reemerges through a hole in sea ice, coming up for breath".
Lisa Roberts, Sydney 2020
