What if we had to pay back the damage inflicted on nature by the inconsiderate and self-centred activities of humans? »Restitution of a Glacier« inverts our assumed perspective of humans as the centre of our ecosystem, making us rethink our interdependence with non-human entities on the planet.
| location | Vienna |
| year | 2018 |
| filed as | installation, research |
| project by | Felix Lenz, Sophie Falkeis, Ula Reutina, Carmen Farr |
| initiated at | Design Investigations (ID2), University of Applied Arts Vienna |
| exhibitions | London Design Biennale 2018, Beijing Art and Technology Biennale 2022 |
| photography | Felix Lenz, Lukas Preisinger |
Description
This installation was part of the Austrian pavilion »After Abundance« at the London Design Biennale 2018.
The research phase of this project spanned environmental and legal studies. In particular, we focused on granting protection to Nature by treating it as a legal entity. The narrative then emerged from this legal research:
In a post-abundant Austria, natural entities have gained the status of a legal person. According to the »Declaration of Rights for Natural Entities«—a speculative legal framework, issued by a future Austrian government—endangered entities are entitled to certain rights, including the right to bring proceedings in front of court. The case exhibited tells the story of a melting glacier, which—represented by its guardian—claims restitution through civil forces in the form of physical rebuilding. This Sisyphean task is expected to last for several generations, as an attempt to re-establish the injured entity’s dignity.
Visitors to the installation will experience an atmospheric soundscape featuring cracking sounds of a glacier occasionally disrupted by the noise of a siren. Reacting to this alarm, life-sized figures fulfilling their compensatory civil service – spraying water to replenish the melting glacier – are projected onto the translucent face of a monumental ice-like structure.
Materiology
The installation’s projection faces are made of a custom engineered, translucent compound material with structural qualities.
Production
We designed custom »glacial uniforms«, recorded our actors in a (DIY-) greenscreen studio and edited the footage in post to add mist coming out of the spraying devices. The composed scenes were then back-projected on the translucent faces.
Selected Press
- After Abundance - A Speculation on Climate Change in the Alps print catalogue, 2019
- The New York Times: “Mind and Body Take Center Stage at This Year’s London Design Biennale” print & online article, September 2018
- It´s Nice that: “Emotional States: why the theme for 2018's London Design Biennale is more important than ever” online article, July 2018
- Kurier: “London Design Biennale: Ende des Überflusses“ online article, April 2018
- Biorama #55: “Nach dem Überfluss” print article, June 2018
- Metropolismag: “Psychoanalyzing the 8 Best Pavilions of the London Design Biennale” online article, September 2018
