olafur eliasson moves 100 tonnes of ice to copenhagen to visualize climate change

artist olafur eliasson and geologist minik rosing have made a visually striking contribution to the climate debate with ‘ice watch’, opening this sunday, october 26th 2014 at copenhagen city hall square. olafur and rosing are placing a monumental, 100 tonnes of inland ice collected from a fjord outside nuuk, greenland onto the danish city streets. the twelve large blocks of ice are to be displayed in the formation of a clock, serving as a physical wake-up call that temperatures are rising, the ice is melting and sea levels continue to rise. 

installation at copenhagen city hall square
all images by group greenland

the project has been conceived by elisasson to mark the publication of and to draw attention to the fifth assessment report of the UN intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), which contains assessments of knowledge about climate change and its consequences. ‘today we have access to reliable data that shed light on what will happen and what can be done. let’s appreciate this unique opportunity – we, the world, must and can act now.’ eliasson and rosing say ‘let’s transform climate knowledge into climate action.’

loading ice

‘as an artist, I am interested in how we give knowledge a body. what does a thought feel like, and how can felt knowledge encourage action? ice watch makes the climate challenges we are facing tangible. I hope that people will touch the inland ice on city hall square and be touched by it. perception and physical experience are cornerstones in art, and they may also function as tools for creating social change. we are all part of the ‘global we’; we must all work together to ensure a stable climate for future generations.’ — olafur eliasson

loading ice at nuuk port and harbour, greenland

‘ice is a wonderful, peculiar substance. just as the progress of our civilizations has been tied to the coming and going of the ice ages, so, too, are our future destiny and the destiny of ice tied together. through our actions we are now close to terminating the period of stable climate that served as the condition for civilizations to arise and flourish. science and technology have made it possible for us to destabilise earth’s climate, but now that we understand the mechanisms behind these changes, we have the power to prevent them from growing.’ — minik rosing

harvesting ice floating in nuup kangerlua, greenland

collecting ice in greenland

towing ice through the waters at nuup kangerlua, greenland

pieces of ice from the greenland ice sheet float in nuup kangerlua

loading ice into a shipping container at nuuk port and harbour

project info:

ice weight: 100 tonnes
origin: the nuup kangerlua fjord outside nuuk, greenland
transport: collected by royal arctic line divers and dockworkers, contracted by group greenland/ greenland glacier ice, and shipped in four refrigerated containers on a containership from nuuk to denmark
support: ice watch is made possible through support from realdania
ice watch was conceived following a discussion about the IPCC fifth assessment report with the danish ministry of climate, energy and building
ice watch is realized in collaboration with sharing copenhagen 2014