The Kon-tiki Expedition

Now I am going back a few years but actually remember reading the book in our English classes at school. The subject matter was about a guy named Thor Heyerdahl who was a Norwegian scientist who led the Kon-Tiki expedition.

I can hear you ask, ‘What is that all about?’

Many believed that the people of Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, seemed to have a culture far different from other people in the area, and therefore could be the descendents of these migrants. Genetic testing has proved that the people of Polynesia did descend from South East Asia and not South America.

In 1947 Heyerdahl decided to re-enact a journey, that was believed impossible, to shed new light on the possibilities of the people of both South America and Polynesia. He believed that the migration to/from Polynesia (including Easter Island) and South America was possible.

The voyage in a balsa reed craft began in April 1947 and ended 101 days later at a distance of 4,300 miles.

The book written by Heyerdahl about the expedition, Kon-Tiki, was a best seller and a documentary made on the voyage won the Oscar for best picture in 1951.

Going back to my inspiration for this ACEO it was whilst I was developing the painting in wax that a realisation came to me that this could have been the balsa wood raft used for the Kon-Tiki expedition. What do you think?

This ACEO is for sale in my artfire shop.