Olafur Eliasson Responds to Paris Summit with a Doomsday Clock Made of Glacial Ice

Ice Watch by Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing, Place du Panthéon, Paris, 2015.
Photo: Martin Argyroglo © 2015 Olafur Eliasson.

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has brought a stark reminder of the dangers of a warming planet to Paris via his latest project, Ice Watch, which was done in collaboration with Danish geologist Minik Rosing.

The duo took 12 hunks of free-floating glacial ice from Greenland’s Nuuk Fjord and arranged them in a circle outside of Place de Panthéon. The melting ice reminds passersby of the current environmental crisis, and hopefully prods those attending the UN Climate Summit (COP21) as well as the general public to act on tackling climate change.

“It’s a beautiful, disturbing, dying monument to where we are right now,” writer Rebecca Solnit posted about the project on Facebook. “People are coming by fascinated, most needing to touch the ice.”

Eliasson’s natural doomsday clock will be on view until December 11, but the weather, as well as public interaction, will affect how long these natural sculptures will last.

“I hope (this) work of art can actually bridge the gap between the data, the scientists, the politicians and heads of state and how normal people feel,” Eliasson said about his icy installation on Thursday, according to Reuters.

See images of the installation below.

Ice Watch by Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing, Place du Panthéon, Paris, 2015.
Photo: Martin Argyroglo © 2015 Olafur Eliasson.

Ice Watch by Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing, Place du Panthéon, Paris, 2015.
Photo: Martin Argyroglo © 2015 Olafur Eliasson.

Ice Watch by Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing, Place du Panthéon, Paris, 2015.
Photo: Martin Argyroglo © 2015 Olafur Eliasson.

Ice Watch by Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing, Place du Panthéon, Paris, 2015.
Photo: Martin Argyroglo © 2015 Olafur Eliasson.