Greenland’s Big Ice is melting. How do we melt the ice in the human heart? Art will save the day. Photography by Emile Holba.
Illustrations by Brian Goggin.
Audio by Charles Monroe-Kane. Website design by Emile Holba.
All rights reserved by Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project.
No reproduction without prior permission.
Juneau, Alaska | Kulusuk, Eastern Greenland
The odyssey began in 1990 when artist Brian Goggin first witnessed the startling beauty of blue ice at Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier. That encounter sparked a lifelong fascination with the fragility and majesty of ice. Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), home to ten percent of the world’s freshwater, emerged as the essential site for this work. What happens to Greenland’s ice has global consequences. Its people embody resilience, ceremony, and deep connection to the ice and to the land.
From 2011 to 2024, Brian made multiple journeys to Greenland, meeting communities, listening to their stories, and shaping the vision for Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project. These years of exploration included testing tools, creating dioramas and painting studies, and developing the first reliquary capsule designs.
In Summer 2011 Brian traveled to Kulusuk and the Apusiaajik Glacier where he navigated treacherous waters packed with shifting icebergs and sea ice. From there he reached the Knud Rasmussen and Karale Glaciers, whose ice feeds into the Sermilik Fjord – a place where fishermen explained that, in winter, icebergs freeze into the sea ice and can be reached by dog sled. That discovery sparked the idea of harvesting ancient ice as part of Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project.
For the next 13 years, while engaged in other large scale public artworks, he continued to refine the concept. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, he returned to the project with renewed focus, exploring practical methods for transporting the harvested ice, including modern shipping systems.
In March 2024, Brian returned to Greenland, assisted by Andy Stephen, and planned to head back to Kulusuk and Tasiilaq in the east coast. A piteraq (Greenlandic for ‘that which attacks you’) storm swept down from the mountains, forcing Brian and Andy to abandon the route. Turning to the west coast to Disko Bay, the homeland of spiritual guide Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, Brian found a promising location for Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project, where the Sermeq Kujalleq Glacier calves enormous icebergs into the Ilulissat Kangerlua (Ilulissat Icefjord).
There, meeting and working alongside Greenlandic Inuit fishermen and dogsled mushers Laila and Hans Sandgreeen, Brian and Andy tested ice saws, traversed the frozen fjord, and identified potential sites for the ice extraction. This journey also marked the beginning of a partnership with Kerim Nasancioglu, Professor of Climate Dynamics at the Department of Earth Sciences University of Bergen and a lead at ILLU Science & Art Hub. And a visit to the Icefjord Center brought international collaborators Emile Holba (photography) and Terje Isungset (music) to the project.
In March 2025, with the addition of Charles Monroe-Kane (sound and radio), Brian and Emile traveled to Ilulissat to solidify the project’s ambitions. There, they established its operational base at ILLU, secured freezer storage for collected ice, built a custom dogsled for transport, and established a location from which to conduct the expedition from the edge of the Icefjord. Introducing expedition advisor Dwayne Fields (polar explorer), the foundation was laid for the full expedition.
From ILLU, Brian collaborated with Emile and Charles to conduct field research and build relationships, documenting local Inuit voices. They secured a key partnership with Greenlandic Inuit Karl Sandgreen, Head of the Icefjord Center, who committed to hosting the first exhibition and stewarding the reliquary after its world tour. Working with Karl, Brian was introduced to ice core scientist, Professor Jorgen Peder Steffensen of the University of Copenhagen, who agreed to advise on the reliquary freezer capsule system design.
Locally, Laila and Hans Sandgreen introduced the team to master sled builder Ole Svendsen and his colleague Arne Johansen, with whom Brian built and tested a custom sled for transporting ice. Field tests at Sikuiujuitsoq Fjord confirmed the sled’s performance, and revealed thinner ice and fewer icebergs than the previous year, leading the team to adjust timing for the next expedition to February 2026. Equipment was stored in a base cabin at the Sikuiujuitsoq Fjord and at ILLU.
Phase 2: Expedition February 2026
Sikuiujuitsoq Fjord, Greenland.
One month in Greenland to harvest Sermersauq (the Big Ice). Expedition team
Artist Brian Goggin
Greenlandic Inuit Shaman Angaangaq
Polar explorer Dwayne Fields
Greenlandic Inuits Laila & Hans Sandgreen, Ole Svendsen, and Arne Johansen
Together, they will locate an iceberg containing ancient glacial blue ice, conduct a sacred ceremony, and harvest the ice using a hand saw and gantry system to lift the ice onto the sled. Culturally important Kalaallit Qimmiat (Greenland dogs), will assist with the transportation of the ice across the 23km of rugged terrain to Ilulissat.
Documentation team
Photographer Emile Holba
Film director Jon Halperin
Podcast producer Charles Monroe-Kane
Cinematographer Zac Hunch
Composer Terje Isungset
Phase 3: Artmaking 2025-2026
USA | Greenland | UK
In Ilulissat, Brian will prepare the ice at ILLU and transform it into a luminous ice gem for placement inside the reliquary. The first location for the exhibition will be at the Icefjord Center.
Brian will build the reliquary, a double-paned freezer capsule, designed in consultation with Professor Steffensen. The reliquary will artistically present and protect the ancient ice as it travels the world with the rest of the exhibition. He will shape the ice by hand into a gem-like form, referencing plaster models developed in his San Francisco studio.
During the lead-up to the exhibition, the artistic team will work to refine the film, photography, podcast, and musical elements for the tour experience.
Phase 4: Global Tour 2027-2028
From Ilulissat, the vision is for the reliquary to embark on the first leg of its global journey. Exhibition locations are being planned in collaboration with curators and cultural institutions around the world.
The installation will consist of four immersive spaces
Sound
Portraits & Voices
Film
Gem
Sound: the calving of glaciers interwoven with the music of shaman Angaangaq (drum & voice) and composer Terje Isungset (instruments made of ice).
Portraits & Voices: photographs and audio stories of Greenlandic Inuit.
Film: a cinematic record of the expedition and transformation of the ice.
Gem: the Ice Ambassador, protected inside the reliquary, will be experienced within a sacred, darkened space.
Sermersuaq: The Last Ice Project will be complete when the Ice Ambassador returns home to the Icefjord Center in Ilulissat.