South

South is a 40-minute dance work which references the narrative of Sir Douglas Mawson’s ill-fated journey to Antarctica in the summer of 1912/1913. South contextualises the catastrophe inherent in Mawson’s journey as an allegory for the 21st century human relationship to the imperilled environment and warming climate.

The central question in South is how can the dancing body be transmuted into a site that represents colonialist quests for space and territory including mapping and photography, whilst also embodying its manifold threats and failures? The work is largely informed by the writings of eco-feminist Elena Glasberg who is a leading author in the examination of Antarctica in the colonialist and post colonialist cultural imaginary. She posits Antarctica as a nexus point for the convergence of gender, biopolitics, science, environmentalism and nation building. South gives life to Glasberg’s theory by using the body to depict the male gaze over the assumed tabula rasa of Antarctica during the so called ‘heroic age’ of early 19th century polar discovery.