Watching the Glacier Disappear

Opening in the presence of the artist, July 4, 2024

The works presented in the exhibition were all created in situ on the Rhône glacier. Accompanied by the ETH Glaciation Research Group, the artist created 3D scans of the cavities dug by the water beneath the glacier's surface. Crystallizing the flow, this data is then transformed into molds from which pieces of recycled glass emerge. Once assembled, large crystals appear, imposing sculptures revealing invisible cavities.
The four crystals on display at Pavillon Sicli are accompanied by large-scale hanging canvases. Created on the ground, these paintings emerge from a landscape that has seen the ice retreat - surfaces of glacial rock, the relief of which has been marked by millions of years under ice. Thanks to the rubbing technique, the entire exposed surface of the glacier is brought into the space, echoing the large white tarpaulins placed on the glacier's surface in an attempt to slow its melting.
From a methodical recording, the forms become abstract and create new landscapes.
A project initiated by Carmen Perrin, Bernard Fibicher and Lorette Coen.
Association Aux arts les glaciers! in partnership with Fondation Pavillon Sicli.
With support from Loterie romande, Fondation Ernst Göhner, Fondation HMSL and Fondation Leister.
Glaciers are melting. Switzerland's natural and cultural landscape is disappearing. Throughout the summer of 2024, an exhibition will answer the questions raised by this change. It focuses on art and its power to reveal. Museums and cultural institutions are relaying the event, which is taking place indoors and outdoors from Geneva to Graubünden, and from Valais to Zurich. When the horizon disintegrates, artists erect their works, sometimes right into the heart of the glaciers.
https://artforglaciers.ch/

Biography Douglas Mandry:
A graduate of ECAL in Lausanne, Douglas Mandry (*1989 Geneva) enjoys working with scientists to analyze and reformulate our perception and understanding of the world in the light of technological evolution and climate change. While photography is his primary tool, he combines it with pictorial, sculptural or printed interventions. He lives in Zurich.