Your Waste of Time

• Artist + nationality

  Eliason (Icelandic-Danish)
• What movement is it apart of? Why? How?

  • Anthropocene movement.
  • Brings attention to humans destroying nature (and not aware) due to visceral reality of climate change.
  • Revealed through physical engagement with multiple ice caps from Vatnajossen, (largest Icelandic ice cap), exhibited in Germany in 2006.
  • Colossal ice chunks arranged as interactive sculptures, resulting ppl able to walk around, and contemplate on unique melting artwork.
  • Entrophy - slow disintegration / decay - dependency (on electricity to keep it cool = mememto mori)
• Give point about how viewers can touch the artwork

  Point: Viewer able to interact (touch) ice caps, causing artwork to decrease quicker than usual due to warmth given off by human’s body.

  Effect: Neatly link to the reasoning behind the piece, intended to express that humans are to blame for climate change - as primary cause.

  
• CT

  "in-touch with time" (Rosie McLellan)
• Give conclusion + context

  Eliason’s uniquely fascinating, avant-garde artwork presents water element as increasingly dangerous and possibly life threatening (due to flooding), implemented by human, indicating hazardous power mankind has over nature, disharmonious atmosphere.

  
  

  Criticism was that despite the display’s theme of environmental awareness, required lots of energy to transport ice from Iceland to New York & preserve ice for many years. Would beg the question as to what lengths must humans go to intensify our colossal involvement within our rapidly changing climate.