Artist Journal - Codes of Survival - a series of combination Photographs/photograms on the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand - 1993 - © Lloyd Godman

The photographic works and the manuscript that make up "Codes of Survival", eventuated from the opportunity to experience the subantarctic Islands through a project called "Art in the Subantarctic". This was an unusual and innovative project and following is as an introduction as an explanation of this project.

The Conception of the Project

During the early 1980s I read of a surrealist proposal in the 1930s for "an art expedition to Easter Island". This seemingly extravagant and exotic idea was to involve the leading artist of surrealism as a probe from a different space and time into the unconscious. The concept of the expedition was never to eventuate; but the idea intrigued me! This idea of artists away on an expedition of discovery stayed with me

During 1984, I finished work on the "Last Rivers Song". While working on this series of photographs of the Clutha and Kawarau Rivers, I became increasingly more sensitive to the unique qualities of the New Zealand landscape. The raw sense of 'Chaos' watching a timeless flood of water ripping and clawing at the hard bed rock and banks binding the water to a course with a finite destiny. The sublime forces of both rock and water exemplified many of the feelings I had become perceptive to in the New Zealand landscape. These feelings manifested visually into an exhibition called "The Last Rivers Song", and later a book.

Soon, however the hydro dam would (actually, it was much later than anyone could ever have guessed) start to fill and the magical tide of turbulence would be stilled, while a smooth wide road of tar seal would carve a graceful curve through the gorge of ravaged abutments and deeply scared valley openings. An approved sense of 'order' would be stamped on the land. It brought home strongly the words of Colin McCahon, "A sense of order belonging to the land, but not yet its people". It made me question the perception of 'order' and 'chaos'.
 

An area of New Zealand that has always fascinated me since childhood was the subantarctic, and in particular, the Auckland Islands. With its extreme environment of "Ordered/Chaos" and destitution, this was a group of islands where the harsh climate and destiny had combined to produce human dramas of epic proportions. It presented all peoples, intent on establishing a settlement with a challenge they could not overcome, it rebuffed the invasions. Infamous was the islands for the numerous shipwrecks which produced struggles of human survival beyond comprehension, often with fatal consequence. "Died from Starvation" is a gruesome headstone reminder of a struggle lost. Scant reminders of futile attempts at farming, agriculture, settlement, shipwreck survival and scientific expeditions have been left to the 'Chaos' or 'Order' of the islands.

Unrepentant in their own struggle to survive are the flora and fauna from an age before, still intact. While some islands within this group remain modified, there are others with virginal qualities, (Adams Island  at the south of the group for instance, is the largest island in the world with NO introduced animals or plants) but all appear to have a special quality of "order belonging to the land".
 

So it was in 1984 that I produced the fusion of the two ideas; the Auckland Islands as a destination of 'Chaos and Order', and the surrealist idea on an Arts expedition of discovery, that related to our culture.
 

The Birth of the Project

The planning for this project began in 1985 when a loose group of artists interested in the project began inquiring as to the realistic possibilities of the project eventuating. 

At that time, the response from the then Lands & Survey Dept was mild to say the least. Where we had envisioned a project that had a combining of the artists creative contribution as a new way of "Seeing" the environment, and the expertise and logistic support of the Dept, the Dept saw their role as one of administration only and offered little support. Our idea of using the Navy for transport for instance was far too extravagant; any application would have to be put through the Lands & Survey Dept and they could find No way to back the application because the limited positions on the Frigate were too valuable in terms of transportation of scientists to the islands. It seemed no room could be made for artists. We were welcome to apply for permits to the islands, but the Dept could offer no assistance. We would have to fund the expedition ourselves and pay for a representative of the Dept to accompany us to make sure we would not put at risk the uniqueness of the environment. 

Some response to an innovative and sharing idea!
 

Apart from a positive response from some members of the Arts Council, the project lay dormant for a number of years. But eventually, the wheels of Government began to change the structure of Government Depts, and the jurisdiction of the islands passed over to Dept of Conservation. It seemed that now was time to reignite the project, and after an initial settling down period, an approach was made again to the Dept of Conservation in Invercargill who now had control over the islands.

Russell Beck, Director of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery had also become interested in the project and as part of his own innovative plans for the Gallery, had the wish to see the project as part of a larger ambition to establish a subantarctic centre in the new building. The project was also backed by the School of Art Otago Polytechnic, who saw the project as a way of associating the school with an innovative project.
 

Together, Lou Sanson ( from DOC), Russell Beck and myself ( with the help of two of the original group of interested artists, Shaun Burdon and David McLeod) began planning the project. Lou was much more enthusiastic about the idea and could see the potential of the project in terms of the Dept's policy of promoting an awareness of the islands through out New Zealand. As a member of the Art Gallery Directors Council, Russell Beck proposed the idea of a touring exhibition at the conclusion of the expedition.

It was decided to bring forward the planning for the project to become part of the 1990 Project. As well as the artists, DOC was planning an extensive season of activity at the islands which included Hut building and other such projects, preservation of historical sites, wild life management, (Shooting of the Goats), and scientific study. The Artists would be included as a part of this much larger expedition.

There were further problems with transportation when it was suggested that women artist be allowed on the frigates and these took quite a while to work through. The assistance of A cabinet minister was enlisted, as well as discussions between DOC and the Navy that eventually allowed the radio room to be used as sleeping accommodation for the women, but only one could be transported on each trip.
 

The Life of the Project

Finally, in 1989 the project came to fruition, and eleven artists were involved in the expedition, with a touring exhibition some time after their return to New Zealand. There were many people and organisations that made this possible, The School of Art Otago Polytechnic, the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 1990 Commission, Department of Conservation, the Royal New Zealand Navy, Television New Zealand and Trust Bank Southland.
 

During the planning process, another artist who had heard of the project, arranged their own trip to the Auckland Islands  because at that point, it appeared that the project was too difficult to organize.

Eventually, the project planned to take 11 artists on several trips at the end of 1989 to the subantarctic islands. However, due to the Governor general and party being offered the use of the Frigate, problems with Naval transport arose at the 11th, hour, which meant that organizers had to find $27000 in four weeks for the project to continue as had been planned. Doc, The School of Art Otago Polytechnic, the 1990 commission and the QEII Arts Council assisted with this.

A special selection panel was established to select the artists from the more than 80 applications, from which a short list was drawn up, before the final group of artists were chosen. The selection tried to include a range of mediums, both men and women, artists that had experience with the natural environment and those with a more urban base, while taking into account cultural differences.

The exhibition from the works created by the artists opened along with the major extensions to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery on sept 1990 and toured 11 other centres throughout New Zealand.

Among the various experiences from the expedition to the Auckland Island, were two that proved to be seminal in developing the work. 

Before we arrived at the islands, I had wrongly believed that the Islands were a pristine environment, a last bastion of wilderness, and while there is some truth in this (Adams Island at the southern end of the group is the largest island in the world with no introduced species) they are islands and the very isolation that protects their wilderness status undermines them in another way. 

Along the rugged coastline we found rubbish washed up on the shore, detritus  dating back to a time when the island where first discovered but also  reaching to the present. So while the Southland Museum and Art Gallery asked if we could retrieve any useful artifacts from the past, the Department of Conservation asked if we could collect rubbish to either burn or bring back to New Zealand. When we asked for a distinction between artifact and rubbish the explanation was not clear, no distinct date or significance of the objects encountered could be given. 

We brought the inorganic rubbish aboard the Naval Frigate for our return journey     aboard the RNZN ship Southland, but during the first night at sea, this was dumped into the ocean along with other rubbish from the Frigate. This practice of dumping rubbish at sea is  common among most vessels, but only sets up a situation where the material eventually washes back up on a coast line.

It was from here I became interested in the notion of artifact, detritus and the effects on the environment. and the idea grew to combine the photographs with photograms of objects.

On the return journey the Navy decided to engage in target practice, where they dropped a floating buoy into the ocean and sailed around it firing all manner of projectiles at it. Eventually the side rails of the boat were dropped and the crew engaged in small arms fire. After the crew had finished their effort, the Governor General's party were offered a shoot, and it was during this firing that a royal albatross was accidentally shot. The bird floated upside down in the surge of the ocean as the DOC officers, and the artists  looked on (the Governor General is the patron of DOC). It was from here that I became interested in the Codes which creatures use and pass on to survive.