Australasia

Creative rationale

Above the remote Southern Ocean between Antarctica and Australia, where the Roaring Sixties churn the waters between continents, intense atmospheric forces create a dramatic meteorological theater. The moderate westerly winds at 15.6 m/s drive chaotic energy outward from the canvas center, while the low pressure system at 978.7 hPa creates heavy accumulations of saturated color that pool dramatically at the composition's edges. The anomalously warm temperature of 20.3°C above normal translates into explosive bursts of vivid primaries, cadmium reds and ultramarine blues, that splash against the canvas borders, leaving Francis's characteristic luminous white breathing space in the center where the eye can rest.