Extreme conditions have fascinated artists for centuries. This small free display in the Collection Gallery Cabinet centres around the large-scale woodcut Collapsed Whaling Station, Deception Island, Antarctica by Emma Stibbon RA.

Stibbon is drawn to environments that have been shaped by both the elemental forces of nature and the impact of human endeavour, “landscapes that have a tension between the natural forces and the manmade”.

Her woodcut is accompanied by a selection of prints, drawings and photographs that resonate with this theme and highlight how ruination, extreme conditions and the fragility of place have long been a source of inspiration for artists.

Collapsed Whaling Station, Deception Island, Antarctica is Stibbon’s ‘Diploma work’, given to the Royal Academy by the artist upon becoming a Royal Academician.