A series of 3D-printed models of the foot of a receding glacier in Switzerland feature in this installation by Dutch designer Xandra van der Eijk, which examines the notion of ecological grief.
Van der Eijk took three scans of the surface structure at the bottom of a glacier in the Swiss Alps. She then replicated the terrain as models using thin sheets of bioplastic.
Xandra scanned the glacier using a 3D-scanner attached to a tablet phone
Together with her team, the Dutch designer scanned the glacier using a 3D-scanner attached to a tablet phone. Data was transferred onto a computer using a hotspot directed via her mobile phone.
"The technology though advanced, is still limited, especially in the field with no electricity or wifi," she explained. Van der Eijk chose the Alps for the project as the average temperature has risen at double the global average over the last 100 years
She then worked with an engineer to 3D-print a replica of the hunk of ice ? a difficult task given its jagged structure.
Eventually, they printed three large structures from a thin sheet of polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic. "PLA is very shiny and thereby eerily similar to the actual area that was scanned," she said.
The team were working without electricity or wifi at the base of the glacier
Called Retreat, the installation aims to serve as a visual reminder of the impact of climate change on the world's glaciers and to raise awareness of the phenomenon of ecological grief.
Van d...