14 Mont Blanc: David Goudichon, Bruno Peyronnet, Lionel Wibault New England Fall Colour: my brother Steve, Dorie Stolley, Peggy Brace Grand Canyon: John Frazier Underwater in the Maldives: the staff of Werner Lau Dive Centre Underwater in Little Cayman: Laurie Cullenward, Joan Knoebel, Michael Cullenward, and Bill Christoffers of Conch Club Divers Machapuchare: Skyler Dougherty, Joel Scott Halkes, Matt Milloy, Kurt Ohms, Ang Nurbu Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa, and their team from Chomalungma Trekking, particularly Nawang Tensing Sherpa, Iccha Ram Pandey, and Deepak Thapa Colorado River: Ed Lowry (on his fiftieth Colorado expedition) and the cheery crowd who braved the rapids, skilfully navigated by the staff of Hatch Expeditions Denali: my brother Steve, Persis Hataria, Peerooza Hataria, Tom Keane Mulu/Borneo: Alison Pritchard and the friendly, helpful, and efficient staff of Mulu National Park Atacama Desert/Parinacota: Dave George, Mattias Lanas, Charlie Utting They helped to plan the journeys, offered hospitality, suggested useful contacts, and gave me the benefit of their experience, and when all had been planned, some accompanied me when I launched off into the wild. Over a lifetime of working in this way—I estimate that I must have been on nearly a hundred expeditions— I have built up a worldwide network of contacts, friends, supporters, and fellow travellers. Some have helped me or travelled with me only once; others have been consistent in their support over many years. They are, without exception, steady, cheerful under intimate tangle of a forgotten wild corner, or be com- pletely overwhelmed by a sublime landscape. I know that I am the most fortunate of beings, able to travel where I like and spend time to absorb everything a place has to offer. If my exhibition per- suades people to stand awhile, to experience, to be uplifted by the profound beauty of the subjects I have painted, then my journey will not have been in vain. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The life of a painter is generally accepted to be a soli- tary one—long hours spent alone struggling to create something of meaning and worth out of recalcitrant materials. Certainly a major part of my life, whether in some remote location or in the comfort of my studio, could be so described. But I am so much luckier than most of my fellow artists. My working practice needs other people to get involved. My first requirement for this project was to enlist the interest and enthusiasm of a group of “luminaries.” Most are world-renowned in their respective fields of expertise; some have a more personal connection to me and my work. All entered into the discussions with seriousness and considered their nominated sites carefully. They have each explained the rationale for their decisions elsewhere in this publication. I would here like to thank them all for their thoughtful involvement. This long-term project has involved many jour- neys. Although always prepared to travel alone, I am fortunate to have been accompanied by my friends on most of them. In particular I would like to thank the following: Greenland: Martin Beck, Peter Murray Everest East Face: Kurt Ohms, Ang Nurbu Sherpa and the team from Chomalungma Trekking, particularly Ang Phury Sherpa and Ichha Ram Pandey In the context of this project beauty can be thought of in two ways: there are the places that are deemed beautiful (the responsibility of my luminaries), and there is my responsibility as the artist to make work in response to it. In this exhibition I have employed all the skills I have learned so far. Whether I have succeeded in making works of beauty is for the viewer to decide. My working practice necessarily involves trusting fate. Travelling, living, and working in wild places— remote from resources, contact, or support—can be a chancy business. Apart from the physical difficulties of making art in such circumstances—always too wet or too dry, too hot or too cold, too much wind or too little air—there is also the risk of not finding worthwhile subjects. What if I travel thousands of miles and many days only to find the place uninspiring? Leaving the choice of destination to the aesthetic judgement of the “luminaries” undoubtedly added another element of chance to the enterprise. In the event it proved to be an exhilarating project. I travelled to many places where I would not have pre- viously thought of working, saw things I never would have seen, enjoyed unexpected and extraordinary encounters, and most important of all, found inspira- tion in all the places to which I was directed. I have often written about the fragility of the wil- derness. With each year the threats to the untamed places of the world increase. Despite international protest the destruction of the rainforest continues apace; urban areas expand; industry exploits, destroys, and moves ever onwards; wildlife is decimated; the plastic “gyre” floating in the Pacific is now the size of France. It seems that humanity, in its heedless rush, seldom has time to lean against a tree, listen to the birds, watch the sun set, breathe in mountain air, walk in quiet places, experience heat or cold, study the
