A view of the Weddell Sea, from Faithfull's daily picture for December 15. He arrives in Antarctica on Christmas eve
As you brave a chilly journey to work, spare a thought for Simon Faithfull, an artist travelling to Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey. Faithfull is creating a visual diary of his trip using a Palm Pilot "as a crude sketch pad" and posting a picture a day on his website, as well as emailing them to anyone who signs up to receive them. The pictures have a cute Etch A Sketch quality, and the white background is evocative of icy wastes.
The project is part of a fellowship scheme between the Arts Council and the British Antarctic survety. In 2003 a composer, Craig Vear, made the trip and produced an electronic symphony from the sound recordings he made there.
Oddly, this year's project has caught the imagination of the Germans, who've apparently signed up in their hundreds for Faithfull's daily picture.
With a bit of luck he might even make a sketch of the giant iceberg which was reported in the seas off Antarctica earlier this week. Described as "the biggest floating thing on the planet right now", the iceberg has been causing trouble by separating penguins from their food sources. It may be a difficult thing to squeeze on to a Palm Pilot screen.
