Irene Kopelman’s paintings in the series 50 metros de distancia o más were produced during a period embedded with a Antarctic research team. Having travelled with the crew by sea under sail from her native Argentina, Kopelman worked plein-air to create drawings of the polar landscape which she then used to create these large-scale paintings. Kopelman’s practice is based on research related to exploration and is inspired by representations of the natural world produced in the age of the Enlightenment. At this intersection between art and science, the works in museum collections from this period are representations that serve both areas of investigation. As her work has progressed, the artist has drawn increasingly from first-hand experience of working with contemporary scientists, in particular, ecologists and naturalists.