cover image Still Life: Inside the Antarctic Huts of Scott and Shackleton

Still Life: Inside the Antarctic Huts of Scott and Shackleton

Nigel Watson, photography by Jane Ussher. Murdoch Books (IPG, dist.), $50 (224p) ISBN 978-1741967395

In 2008, Ussher, a New Zealand photographer, photographed the famous Scott and Shackleton huts, which have survived intact in the Antarctic climate for a century. From her opening shot of the imposing frozen tundra and the memorials to those who died on the expeditions, the majestic but treacherous terrain seems to spread to infinity, rendering these huts blips on an unforgiving landscape. Featuring mostly interior shots of the explorers’ shelters, these photos reveal an elegant British formality despite the austerity of daily life. Ussher, former chief photographer for the New Zealand Listener, portrays the interiors and remains in haunting but artful shots of intact food tins, crates, even animal carcasses. Certain images prove especially rich: light catching the edge of a tape measure, the stitching on a man’s boot, writing paraphernalia from Paris—all shot in extreme close-ups with a delicate eye. Watson, executive director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, provides detailed descriptions of each hut, the men, and their expeditions, as well as diary excerpts and comprehensive captions. (July)