new artwork "arctic streams"
"arctic streams", 132 x 276 cm / 52 x 108.7 in and 67 x 141 cm / 26.4 x 55.5 in, edition of 6
Michael Najjar just released a new work in his "cool earth" series. The work "arctic streams" visualizes the process of darkening of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the formation of massive meltwater rivers.
The triptych consists of several palimpsest-like layers of images that weave together micro and macro perspectives. The foundation is a series of aerial photographs taken by the artist during multiple helicopter flights over the ice sheet. These are partially blended with close-up and detailed images of the ice surface. Electron microscope images of algae collected from the ice sheet float in spherical form above the ice. These microorganisms are responsible for the widespread color transformation of the ice. The dark, cracked ice surface, crisscrossed by glacier crevasses, contrasts with the turquoise-blue, crystal-clear meltwater rivers that meander through the endless ice landscape. Like branching veins, they wind through the ice, their deep blue tones standing out sharply against the gray shades of the ice.
The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at an unprecedented rate due to climate change. In recent years, hundreds of billions of tons of ice have been lost, causing the ice cap to retreat and global sea levels to rise—a process that is becoming increasingly difficult to reverse.