Refractions of Ice

In “Refractions of Ice”, art and science meet in a visual exploration of the deep ice.

Under polarized light, the crystals of the ice emerge in surprising patterns, where the ice’s own poetic language—of colors, shapes, and movements—reveals traces of past climates and hints at transformations yet to come.

The exhibition presents macro-optical film recordings of ice crystals from millennia-old ice cores, extracted from three kilometers deep within the Greenland ice sheet. Through a scientific and visual study of the ice crystals’ microscopic movements and melting processes, the work invites the viewer into the deep narratives of the ice, where vibrant crystals become images of the planet’s mutability.

Video and sound translate ice-core research into a sensory experience, where the encounter between science and aesthetics creates a visual space for reflection on nature’s transformations and humanity’s place within them—in a time of climatic and existential shifts.

The work was created by Visual Science Studio in collaboration with researchers from the Centre for Ice and Climate at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen.