Two years ago, botanical illustrator Maura Chamberlain was rugged up and combing for plant samples on a windswept sub-Antarctic isle.
Her hard work, which focused on species unique to the World Heritage outpost of Macquarie Island, goes on display in Hobart on Saturday.
“When I was there it was like being in a David Attenborough film,” Ms Chamberlain said.
“We were surrounded by penguins and seals. It is an extraordinary home for a lot of animals.”
Since the four-day visit in 2024, Ms Chamberlain has painstakingly illustrated the island’s wildlife including the endemic Macquarie Island cabbage and daisy.
She battled 40-knot winds and blizzard-like conditions to collect samples.
Macquarie Island, which was discovered in 1810, was heavily exploited for sealing and oiling and became overrun with feral animals including cats and rabbits.
In 2014, it was declared pest-free after an eradication program that has been hailed as one of the world’s great conservation stories.
Ben Arthur, a director with the Macquarie Island Conservation Foundation who went there earlier in 2025 about a decade since his last visit, says the transformation is “just remarkable”.
“There are plant species I saw en masse that were 10 years before only in small pockets behind fences,” he said.
Ms Chamberlain’s trip included time on the nation’s icebreaker as part of an arts fellowship run by the Australian Antarctic Division.
It has allowed more than 50 artists to pursue their creative ambitions while documenting the region.
“Drawings are a particular medium that demand a high level of observation,” said the division’s assistant director of arts Annalise Rees.
“It’s a way of vicariously looking at the environment … for an audience who may never experience that themselves.”
The works added to Australia’s cultural legacy, said Dr Rees, who hopes they will end up on the walls of homes or major institutions.
The exhibition runs May 9-15 at Hobart’s Waterside Pavilion.