The Dutch refer to icebergs (or “ice mountains”) as ijsberg, and depending on their height and length, we Yanks call them by a few other choice names too, such as growler, bergy bit and holy sh*#! Everyone knows what happened to the Titanic. When a colossal chunk of ice breaks off and takes its own meandering journey – as more have been doing these days than ever before – it tends to carve its own path, no matter what obstacles might be in front of it. Massive ice shelves the size of Connecticut, seven times the size of Manhattan, and just last month a 985-square mile slab the size of Luxembourg have all collapsed into the ocean off of Antarctica, and take one guess what’s causing it. I’ll give you a hint….two little words starting with a “g” and a “w”. Beyond the damage that these natural structures can potentially cause to ocean-bound crafts, there’s clearly a far more troubling consequence to wildlife and humanity.
With a 60% increase in ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet since 1996, studies conducted in that region have determined that glaciers are moving twice as fast as before. Considering their sheer size and weight – oftentimes up to 250 feet above sea level and from 100,000 to 200,000 tons – they are literally quite like floating mountains that have the capability of throwing off our global weather systems for many decades to come. Why? Blame it on their ability to block the production of cold, salty and very dense Antarctic bottom water which fuels global ocean circulation -- scientists believe this could very well end up triggering cooler North Atlantic winters in the next couple of decades. One other concern that keeps them up at night is the fact that if the Greenland ice sheet melts completely, our global sea levels could rise by 22 feet – ultimately taking out most of London and deluging the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Florida.
As all of this climate-related concern plays out in real time, Dutch sculptor Ap Verheggen has spearheaded an intriguing project designed to spread awareness about the consequences of global warming and how it directly affects specific polar region communities, such as the island village of Uummannaq where 1000 people and 2000 sled dogs currently make their home. Backed by the World Wildlife Fund, he erected the first of four giant 100% iron sculptures on, of all places, a west coast Greenland iceberg (which is anticipated to take approximately 2 years before completely dissolving into the sea). Verheggen’s sculpture, which depicts a fluid and stylistic representation of a dogsled driver, offers a telling message in the face of climate change – that “nature ultimately determines the course of the journey.” Once its icy pedestal liquefies, Verheggen will either reclaim the sculpture (if he is able to) or simply allow Mother Nature to do with it what she will.
Those who are curious to see with their own two eyes how the elements slowly but surely affect his selected iceberg (and the sculpture resting on top of it) can log onto Cool Emotion in order to access a live feed of the spectacle as it plays out throughout the weeks, months and years. His remaining three sculptures will be located in northern Canada locales as well as on melting permafrost in Siberia, one of which is pictured below. What kind of impact, if any, does this artistic exercise have on you? Verheggen has gone to great lengths to scout out his sculptural locations, create the pieces that he’s putting on display and set up the video equipment which will capture their ultimate demise on film. Surely he’s created a fair amount of carbon just to execute this project….so does that in and of itself negate his eco-heavy message?
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