A working man in Wonderland: Ernest Joyce, photographs and Antarctic exploration

Abstract

This paper proposes that photographs have the potential to generate new thinking about the experience of Antarctic exploration, suggesting particularly that the diversified photographies of the early twentieth century provide a means of harnessing the reactions of individuals marginalized by conventional text-based discourse. It considers the Antarctic experiences of “second-tier” explorer Ernest Joyce, outlining existing constructions of his Antarctica in order to provide a context for thinking with the group of photographs he compiled in response to his participation in three of the British-led expeditions of the so-called Heroic Era of Antarctic exploration. It suggests that Antarctica brought about a significant attitudinal shift for Joyce, drawing him away from a paradigm based in service to duty towards one where individual will might prevail. However, this attitudinal shift was not matched by the tangible recognition Joyce craved, making his Antarctica also a site for considering the restless operation of unresolved aspiration.