GREEN ANTARCTICA
August 2020
Video
Ice, Sugar, Pigment
3m25s
Art,Space & Nature Degree Show
Antarctica may be seen the purest region on earth. And its symbolic penguins, white snow and extremely cold weather.
But it is also the most sensitive area on the planet. When we enter this world, we bring carbon, water pollution and green algae. Green has come to this world again, and some people may feel excited, but in Antarctica, the emergence of green algae is not worth to celebrate. Green algae are the catalyst for melting glaciers, and the carbon we bring to this world is algae’s promoter.
"Contaminated diversity is everywhere." (Hornborg, 2017)
We have formed an entanglement between multiple species in it, "green" and "white", "green" and "black". This time-lapse video simulates the melting of a glacier. It was originally a white snow mountain. As the temperature rises, the green algae on its surface spreads rapidly, forming "green snow". The green algae survive by melting ice and snow, and the sea level will rise accordingly. Life is symbiotic.
The spread and flow of green at different speeds in the video may give the audience an emotional ups and downs. The rapid melting of ice indicates that the issue of global warming is urgent. The slow flow of green may be a metaphor for green algae and glaciers. Waiting for people to stop the pace of the industrial age to save both them.