In Iceland, Okjökull’s funeral was held in 2018, the funeral for the Pizol Glacier in Switzerland in 2019: A symbolic ceremony to warn of the imminent disappearance of the ice giants in the Alps.
In the performance LE DIT DE NEVÉ, THE GLACIERS LOVE SONG, a ceremony begins with an inventory of the melting Swiss glaciers in numbers and graphics.
But instead of weeping for the glacier, the glacier speaks to us and asks us not to leave, to take care of our lives. LE DIT DE NEVÉ, THE GLACIERS LOVE SONG, regrets the death of the humans and not the disappearance of the ice which will be reborn in an eternal going and coming.
The spectators will receive an arm with a hand in a fist - symbol of fight - made of ice, which reveals vegetal during melting. Ritual or not? At the choice of the viewer to install the ice sculpture on the sacrifice table or not.
ENTHALPY OF FUSION | 2017
ENTHALPY OF FUSION focuses on the fragility of human life and its dependence on nature. The title refers to the energy it takes to transform matter to liquid from its solid state. The installation provides a reflection on the effects of global warming and the destruction of nature by man. Glaciers in the Swiss Alps lose one percent of their mass every year; at this rate, they will all have disappeared by the end of the century. People living in remote mountain valleys have many myths and legends created from a mix of Pagan tales and daily life experiences that revolve around the power of the glaciers. Nature is the principal power at work in these tales: it either punishes or saves the living. The good and bad spirits of the mountains stand alongside God and “educate” the living according to precise moral codes. When people die, their souls are trapped in the glacier to pay for all the sins they committed in their lifetime.
This installation is presented through films projections, a melting ice sculpture, and live performance. The trapped souls are represented through a human figure of ice, made from a cast of my body. The sculpture is left to melt and “die.” This symbolizes the part of our society that will “die” if we believe we can control nature. Despite its serious message, the show leaves viewers with hope for a new beginning.
PASSING BANQUET | 2019
A long empty table with a white tablecloth | There are chairs along the table | The artist begins to set the table, candles, glasses, bottles, fruits… | The objects are made of ice | The table begins to be overloaded | For a moment everyone looks at the objects which are slowly starting to melt | The artist begins to eat, first ice fruits, later plates, glasses, leaves the table and disappears | The table with the objects that melt remains as an ephemeral sculpture.
FROM MARGATE WITH LOVE | 2012
5 INTERVENTIONS FOR ARLINGTON HOUSE | MARGATE UK | SEPT 2012
