Arctic 60n 130w

Download SVG

Creative Rationale

Over the remote Arctic Ocean northwest of Canada's mainland, where sea ice meets endless sky, the atmosphere carries an unusual warmth anomaly of over 21 degrees above normal, creating a dynamic tension between expected frigidity and unexpected thermal energy. The extremely low pressure system at 878.2 Pa generates a dense, weighty presence in the composition, while the gentle 2.5 m/s winds from the northeast and high humidity create subtle movement through layered, translucent forms. I've interpreted this as a palimpsest of memory and cognition—fragments of ice-blue geometric structures emerging from and dissolving into warmer amber and coral fields, with earlier cold marks showing through later warm layers, reflecting the cognitive dissonance between what should be and what is in this changing Arctic landscape.

Buy Print

License: This artwork is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Attribution: James Tannahill / art.jamestannahill.com. No commercial use or derivatives without permission.