The Terror
A visual exploration of a lost voyage and the fragility of human survival
In choosing to follow an artistic path, I often find myself doom-scrolling - reading and watching world politics - and too often I wonder if making art is pointless when the Western world order is going to hell in a handcart. But, when I manage to extricate myself from a screen, breathe some fresh air, and feel the sun on my face, I feel a lot better about my chosen vocation. Nevertheless, my subject matter sometimes belies my happy demeanour, which plays out in a painting I made last year called The Terror.
The chaotic scene—disorderly, obscure faces, rigid structures: many things you glimpse and possibly recognise, but when you seek them again, they’re gone. That’s the power of chaotic abstraction. The Terror—what terror? Where’s the terror?
I made the painting while researching the history of Sir John Franklin’s failed 1845 expedition to map the final part of the Northwest Passage, a sea route through the Arctic linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Under Franklin’s command were two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Both tragically became locked in the frozen Arctic ice, and for three long years, the crew desperately fought to survive the harsh conditions. In 1848, the men abandoned the ships and tried to march south across the ice to the Canadian mainland, but all perished from starvation, hypothermia, lead poisoning (from tinned food), and possible cannibalism.
The final resting place of HMS Terror remained a mystery despite many search attempts by the British Navy and private expeditions funded by Franklin’s wife, Lady Jane Franklin. It was only nine years ago, in 2018, that HMS Terror was finally located.
Now that you have the framework of the story, I hope my painting evokes an eerie, fragmented vision of decay and isolation, capturing the psychological and physical deterioration experienced by the unfortunate crew. You see, I created a scene that is dense and fractured, dominated by entangled, skeletal forms and intersecting black lines that resemble rigging, broken masts, and the chaotic remains of a disintegrating vessel—ambiguous forms oscillating between human figures, machinery, and organic decay, mirroring the uncertainty of life and death aboard The Terror.
The Terror (2024) is 100 x 100 cm (approx. 40” x 40”), made with acrylic and drawing materials on canvas. If you’re interested in seeing more of my history paintings, pop over to my website…
About me
My name is David Bell and I’m an artist living in Sanremo, Italy. I write this blog for my band of supporters, giving an insight to my art and life living on the beautiful Riviera of Flowers.
A really moving and evocative piece David