Poland designer Marek Ranis has produced a whole series of work entitled Albedo – meaning the measure of reflectivity of a surface or body – which concerns the melting of polar ice caps. As Ranis explains: “Albedo was inspired by the dramatic collapse of a part of the Larsen Ice Shelf (Larsen B) in 2002. The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long shelf of ice in the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea of the Antarctic Penninsula from Cape Longing to just south of Hearst Island. This natural phenomenon had been a stable feature of the continent for about 12,000 years –essentially the entire Holocene Period –since the last Ice Age. During the early months of 2002 the B sector collapsed and broke apart. 3,250 kilometers of ice 220 meters thick disintegrated; an area comparable to the size of the state of Rhode Island disappeared in a single season.”
Albedo painting, Marek Ranis, 2004, polymer on linen
The Albedo collection has many elements and features photography, sculpture and installation work and also a series of paintings using polymer on linen, “based on satellite images of Antarctic and Arctic glaciers, ice shelves and ice floes”. From these images Ranis designed a series of handwoven carpets made in Tibet.
Albedo carpet, Marek Ranis
Albedo carpet, Marek Ranis
Albedo carpet, Marek Ranis
Albedo carpet, Marek Ranis
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