RSA Scottish Art

Baltic Progress at Helsinki

Small web image of Baltic Progress at HelsinkiArtist: Frances Walker
Title: Baltic Progress at Helsinki
Year: 1980
Medium: etching on paper
Dimensions:
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Source: RSA
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Description: Frances Walker's work mostly focuses on remote landscapes, but she has also explored the city of Aberdeen, its buildings and shoreline.In 1978 Frances Walker won an award which enabled her to travel to Finland and afterwards she produced a series of prints from her experiences. She reported, “I came by cargo boat from Hull to Helsinki. I left Hull aboard the Baltic Enterprise and we sailed over the North Sea and through the Kategaat between Sweden and Denmark in unexpected warm sunshine over calm seas.” This etching, Baltic Progress at Helsinki, recalls a journey spent in the narrow confines of the ship. The portholes allow a restricted, claustrophobic view of the outside world and the superstructure of the ship. The interior of the cabin, with metal window frames and patterned curtains, is formally interesting, but it does not tell us about Helsinki or the Baltic Sea. This is a much more personal view of life onboard a ship, without any of the romance or drama that is often attached to seascapes.This etching is very cleanly and precisely executed. The outlines around the shapes are the most important formal aspects of the print. The limited range of tones are mostly employed to indicate the distinction between the illuminated interior and the darkness outside. The interior of the cabin is deliberately featureless to suggest the banal, uniform surfaces on a modern ship.The composition of the image is almost symmetrical. This is quite rare in visual art - can you think of many pictures which are symmetrical? Walker has ensured the image is not too blank by making adjustments to sizes and shapes and adding some pattern; for example the portholes are slightly different sizes, the curtains are irregular and each window shows something a little different. The regularity of the arrangement makes the image look quite sterile - this could be a view from within a train, an aeroplane or even a space craft.