Hi Peggy,

Here's the piece I promised you from the Cape Farewell expedition.

Our present location:
68 Degrees 56 mins N
25 Degrees 17 mins W
Somewhere off the Greenlandic coast - heading back to Iceland!

Photo by Nick Cobbing, courtesy of the artist.

What happens when you fill a one-hundred-year-old wooden schooner with 11 artists, 3 scientists, 3 writers, 2 musicians and one comedian, and send them into the Arctic? The idea is that they get inspired about climate change. It's nearing the end of our 2-week journey, which has taken us along the 78th parallel, inside the Arctic Circle to Greenland, and the work continues.

Much cross-fertilization is evident: the scientists' coulourful maps of changing ocean currents are the envy of the artists, while sculptor Dan Harvey harnesses the laws of gravity to paint the ship's course with ink and rolling ball bearings. Outside in the blue twilight, David Buckland is projecting text onto the sheer sides of icebergs.

So far no one has been eaten by bears or suffered from frostbite, though there has been lots of seasickness. The Force 9 winds took their toll on the way here, with the ship resembling a washing machine; artists paraphernalia, science equipment, guitars and cameras were hurled around inside.

Arriving in Greenland we were met with the northern lights dancing above us in big curtains of green, soothing our spirits. Today we saw a polar bear crossing the fjord in front of us with two cubs. Creator and director David Buckland hopes this fusion of disciplines will fuel projects about climate change, as the artists depart the Arctic wilderness to the comparative safety of their studios.

Dan Harvey will return to London where he will re-work his piece, 'Stranded,' with his partner Heather Ackroyd, which will be shown in Madrid in January and Tokyo in July and August as part of the Cape Farewell touring exhibition. Buckland himself will be collaborating with composer Max Eastley for a show called 'Arctic,' in Millennium Park, Chicago, early this November. Comedian Marcus Brigstocke will take his new show on tour in the UK from the 12th October, using material from the trip.

And myself? I have a photo-essay exploring the Arctic through the eyes of the crew of a high-latitude sailing ship, sails glazed with frost, sea-ice crunching under the bow, the northern lights overhead and icebergs as big as cathedrals. The work from Cape Farewell is feeding into my ongoing work in Greenland.

It's been a great trip,
Nick Cobbing

Editor's Note:
You can find Nick's photography work at: www.nickcobbing.co.uk
And you can read Nick's first post from Greenland on the Cape Farewell website.

Cape Farewell brings artists, scientists and educators together to collectively address and raise awareness about climate change. Created by David Buckland, this is Cape Farewell's fourth expedition into the high Arctic. The expedition is made in the spirit of a truly joint endeavor between the international arts and science communities. Five nationalities are represented: the UK, US, Canada, India and Australia.

On board the 100-year old Dutch schooner Noorderlicht, the Cape Farewell project has sailed to the heart of the debate on climate change. From this vantage point the artists and scientists aim to illustrate the workings of this crucial part of the planet, drawing attention to the role ocean currents play and the effect rising CO2 levels and changing weather patterns will have on planet Earth. - From the Cape Farewell website

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