The Arctic Circle Residency Fundraiser

Hello friends! I am thrilled to announce that I have been accepted by The Arctic Circle Residency for the Summer 2024 voyage. I have had my sights set on this program since 2018 and cannot wait to be joining this amazing global cohort of 30 artists, scientists, and educators from June 8 - June 25, 2024. During those two weeks, I will be living and making artwork aboard The Antigua, a specially outfitted Barquentine sailing vessel, which sails out of Longyearbyen through the high-Arctic Svalbard Archipelago and the Arctic Ocean.

photo by Sarah Gerats

photo by Beau Carey

Over the last year, my collaborative partner Vaughn and I have been producing a new body of work featuring Lepidoptera species stemming from his research and my interest in site-specific cyanotype image-making. This new series was the catalyst for my application to this unique residency, as the materials and subject matter in our work intersect perfectly with this glacial voyage. While I will be attending this residency on my own, I will be representing the entirety of our research and art-making throughout the program. Embarking upon this expedition with The Arctic Circle will expand upon Vaughn's vital Ph.D. research in Lepidoptera and the effects of climate change, allow us the opportunity to engage with other dedicated scientists, educators, and creatives from around the world, and provide a solid platform for our exciting collaborative series of new prints while furthering my site-specific studio practice.

As an artist and an employee of a small arts non-profit, I need your help to make this once-in-a-lifetime experience a reality. Here is the breakdown of the trip costs:

• Arctic Circle Residency Fees (fee includes room, board, travel to/from The Antigua from Longyearbyen): $7,200

• Roundtrip Flight to Longyearbyen + Accommodations: ~$3,000

• Arctic Gear + Supplies: ~ $2,300

Cost: $12,500.

I can save $3,000 for this program and need help with the remaining $9,500. Any amount you can donate will help me reach this goal!

Thank you,

- Jason Edward Tucker

If you would like to read more about this project and our collaborative series, please find the artist statement and my residency proposal for The Arctic Circle Residency below:

RIPPLES STATEMENT

Global climate change contributes to the major restructuring of biodiversity on the planet, altering entire ecological communities down to the very color and shape of organisms. These butterflies and moths represent just a handful of species that will be impacted by an evolving environment. Referencing the early photographic cyanotype process employed by Anna Atkins as a lens for scientific study in her book Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions c.1853, we swapped water for melting ice and snow to process and tone these prints as a metaphor for climate change in this series; exploring how the stochasticity of water changing from solid to liquid reflects our shared ecological uncertainty on a warming planet. The unpredictability of color and tone, and the patience required to make each print by watching ice melt on paper over indeterminate amounts of time also lent themselves to this climate impact study, resulting in each print being unique and a reflection of an evolving and weathered environment.

- Jason Edward Tucker + Vaughn Shirey

THE ARCTIC CIRCLE: RESIDENCY PROPOSAL

My recent series Ripples is a constantly evolving body of work, regularly informed by the changing state of the global climate. My goal for this two-week expedition, amongst having the opportunity to engage my cohort of artists and educators, is to provide awareness and visual depth to several species impacted by climate change by expanding my work to include a series of cyanotypes documenting insects indigenous to Svalbard.

Access to sunlight, as well as water minerality and temperature, have impacts on the cyanotype process; a reaction of any of these variables with the ferrous salts in the hand-painted photographic chemistry dictates the tone and depth of the image. When frozen materials are included, a fair portion of the process is left up to chance and requires flexibility and patience, which is one of the main reasons this technique has personally resonated with me. Each print is a mediation, slowly revealing itself on its own time. I am incredibly curious to experiment with the sunlight, water, and frozen landscape surrounding The Antigua. All of my negatives for the cyanotypes will need to be printed in advance of this expedition, and I would love to collaborate with the Arctic Guides during the residency in the hopes of seeing these species in their natural habitat. The cyanotypes will be made responsibly on board, following The Antigua’s protocol for waste disposal in a closed system. Utilizing seawater and glacial ice from the expedition in direct contact with documentation of species that reside in the areas around the voyage, the work I create will be rooted to Svalbard and The Antigua in medium and content.

Vaughn and I’s primary inspiration over the past two years has been drawn from his Ph.D. research of climate studies with Arctic butterfly and moth species. In preparation for this opportunity, we have researched and started to source imagery for the three moth species that live in Svalbard (Pyla fusca, Apamea maillardi, and Plutella polaris). In addition to creating Lepidoptera imagery specific to the area, I am also interested in including some selections from two groups of Svalbard wasps (Hymenoptera), two species of predatory rove beetles (Staphylinidae), and two endemic aphid species (Hemiptera). Acquiring the photographic documentation of these insects in advance of this voyage requires a collaborator that works in biology or conservation with access to specific archives. If I am offered this opportunity to spend two weeks learning from my peers and creating a photographic study with a larger variety of insects, it will further my ability to engage scientists across the globe and call attention to these vital and impacted species.