Glacial blue ice from the Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) Ice Sheet will be transformed into a reverential sculpture, a reliquary, traveling the world as a frozen ambassador, representing the interests of the Arctic environment and the Indigenous peoples who reside there.
Website Credits: Photography, website design and build by Emile Holba. Illustrations by Brian Goggin. Audio by Charles Monroe-Kane. Text by Brian Goggin, Charles Monroe-Kane and Emile Holba. All rights reserved by Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project. No reproduction without prior permission.
Glacial blue ice from the Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) Ice Sheet will be transformed into a reverential sculpture, a reliquary, travelling the world as a frozen ambassador, representing the interests of the Arctic environment and the Indigenous peoples who reside there. Sermeq Kujalleq Glacier bordering the Greenland Ice Sheet. Photo by Emile Holba.Renowned San Francisco-based artist Brian Goggin, in collaboration with Kalaallit Greenlandic Inuit Shaman Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, will conduct a ceremonial winter expedition to extract a block of ancient blue ice from the Ilulissat Icefjord, near the UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) Ice Sheet.
The ice will be extracted using a traditional handsaw and transported to the mainland on an Greenlandic Inuit dog sled. Goggin will then sculpt the ice into a large precious gem, before installing it into a custom-built capsule, a reliquary of ancient ice. Goggin has spent time during the last two winters conducting field tests and organizing logistics with the townsfolk of Ilulissat. He has also spent time alone on the Icefjord, preparing mentally, physically, and spiritually for ‘Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project.’
The fifteen-foot long and five-foot wide outer shell of the capsule will feature sleek, aerodynamic curves reminiscent of Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion car, with a tapered stern and frame made from salvaged timber from forest fires in California, representing the destruction caused by climate change. The capsule will incorporate dual pane E-glass, allowing a dazzling display of glacial blue ice.
‘Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project’ will travel the world to museums and cultural institutions before returning to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) for a permanent home in the Icefjord Centre in Ilulissat. This journey will serve as a powerful statement on the rapid unraveling of Arctic ice ecosystems and their far-reaching impacts on the planet. In addition to the capsule, the touring public exhibition will include an immersive film (directed by three-time Emmy award winning film director Jon Halperin), a formal photography exhibit (by award winning British Arctic photographer Emile Holba), and an accompanying radio podcast series (by Peabody award winning public radio producer Charles Monroe-Kane). Music for the project will be composed by Terje Isungset (internationally known as the pioneer of Ice Music).
By integrating the capsule’s modern technology with Indigenous wisdom and ancient ice, ’Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project’ offers a path of hope that challenges not only the status quo of artistic endeavors, but the very way in which we discuss climate change.
Here’s a short interview Brian Goggin did with public radio's Charles Monroe-Kane about the importance of the project.
“It’s easy to melt the ice on the ground. But the hardest thing to be melted is the ice in the heart of Man. Only by melting the ice in the heart of Man, does humanity have a chance to change.”
Kalaallit Greenlandic Inuit Shaman Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq. The zone where the Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) Ice Sheet and Sermeq Kujalleq glacier meet.Page credits: Photography by Emile Holba. Text by Brian Goggin, Charles Monroe-Kane and Emile Holba.
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