On view on
An Ice Floe in the Bay of Bothnia, Swedish Lapland: February 14 – Until the ice melts

Vicarious fragile pilgrims, my work in Goodbye world! curated by Andreas Templin and Raimar Stange, which «opened» in February 14.

Embodied in paper, loyal pilgrims left Peru to reach the ice and disappear with it, honoring the Qoyllur R’iti pilgrimage, which didn’t occur in 2020 due to Covid-19, and which is progressively affected by the melting of the glaciers. Qoyllur R’iti («bright white snow” in Quechua—a language Indigenous to the Peruvian Andes) is a syncretic religious festival held annually in the highlands of Cusco, where people celebrate the appearance of the Pleiades constellation in dedication to their harvests and the regeneration of life.

The Arts bid Farewell
Record high temperatures in the Arctic, rising sea levels, and erosion of rainforests leave no doubt: in the face of climate change, we risk saying goodbye to countless species of plants and animals, to islands and waterfront cities, and tragically to millions of people facing food insecurity from heat waves and droughts.

In the midst of this catastrophe, contemporary art is saying farewell, too. Goodbye, World brings eco-friendly works by internationally-renowned artists to an ice floe in Arctic Sweden where they will remain until the ice melts and the artworks sink to the ocean floor. The project not only reacts to the consequences of global warming, it tentatively aligns itself with these outcomes and conceptually applies them in its presentation.

The disappearance of art critiques an art industry that has been overly focused on the production and lucrative sales of works, while dealing in continuous visibility as a basis for commercial success. It is for this reason that Goodbye, World presents a scenario in which valuable works of art are ‘sunk’ and removed from circulation indefinitely.

Special thanks to Hanna Isaksson, Resurscentrum för Konst – Region Norrbotten, and to Eric, Susanne, and Shane at Luleå Archipelago Adventures.

Exhibition photography and videography: Sean Smuda, with additional photography by Andreas Templin.
Drone operator: Shane Doolin.

Andreas Templin practices art in a multivariate approach, which expresses in sculpture, photography, installations, urban interventions and sound art. He holds an MFA from Sandberg Institute Amsterdam and lives and works in Berlin.

Raimar Stange studied philosophy, German, and journalism in Hanover. He works as a freelance art journalist and curator in Berlin. Stange is published in magazines such as Kunst-Bulletin Zurich, art-agenda.com, Camera Austria Graz and Artist Bremen. He is currently curating exhibitions on topics such as climate change and right-wing populism.