united visual artists: high arctic

 

one of their most recent projects is ‘high arctic’, commissioned by the national maritime museum in london. as part of the program,
UVA’s matt clark ventured to the arctic’s archipelago svalbard to understand, visualize and gain insight on the steadily vanishing region.
in response, the research and information gathered compelled the collective to create an experience which guides users through a

simulated occurrence of the effects climate change is having on the glaciers.

 

the monumental framework is set in 2100 AD, whereby visitors explore the arctic through an abstracted landscape composed of light,
sound and 3000 sculptural ‘glaciers’–each individually named after an existing one — which are projected to melt by the end of this century.
a UV torch allows one to interact with the animations at hand and force individuals to be confronted with the negative impact we have been having
on this particular area over the course of history.  as part of the work, UVA collaborated with nick drake, who was on the expedition with clark,
and who narrates the piece. the immersive playground has been nominated as one of the ‘designs of the year’ by the design museum, london in the ‘digital’ category.
see designboom’s coverage of the award’s shortlisted projects here.