Abandoned Tractor Tires Whalers Bay Antarctica Black And White | Wall Art

Industrial Remains Half Buried At An Antarctic Whaling Station

At Whalers Bay Station in Antarctica, I came across these enormous abandoned tractor tires slowly disappearing into the barren ground. Only portions of the heavy tread remain exposed, while broken mechanical pieces and cables sit nearby. In black and white, the shapes become almost sculptural: two great arcs of rubber, scarred by age, surrounded by an open landscape with almost nothing to distract from what has been left behind.

During my Antarctica tour, I was able to spend time exploring and photographing this abandoned whaling station. Walking through a place with so much visible evidence of another era was one of the experiences I remember most clearly from the trip. Photographs like this are why I remain drawn to abandoned places wall art. There is something compelling about finding objects that once had an obvious purpose and seeing what remains after that purpose has disappeared.

The composition is built around the relationship between the two partially buried tires. The larger foreground tire immediately carries the eye into the photograph, and the second repeats the same curved form farther back. From there, the cables and smaller pieces of machinery pull the eye toward the right before the surrounding emptiness takes over. The rough tread, gravel, scattered stones, worn metal and deep shadows give the photograph considerable texture without needing anything added to the scene.

I chose black and white because color was not what interested me here. I wanted the photograph to be about form, age, texture and isolation. The monochrome treatment also emphasizes the contrast between the hard industrial remains and the vast, exposed Antarctic setting.

For me, there is also a sense of distance in time. Standing at the old station and thinking about the people who once worked there made it feel like I was looking into a very different world from the one we know today. That history is present without needing to dominate the photograph.

I offer this photograph as a limited edition of only 10 prints. Each print is produced with archival pigment inks on premium archival paper, personally signed by me, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Its neutral tones and industrial subject can work particularly well in contemporary, minimalist or more rugged interiors, and I think it will especially appeal to collectors drawn to Antarctica, abandoned places and remnants of working history.

The exposed tread, buried wheels and surviving mechanical fragments also place this photograph naturally within my collection of machinery wall art.

© Dan Kosmayer, 2011