The Glacier is a Being

While we still hold to an anthropocentric worldview, it has become inevitable to rethink and reshape human behavior in line with the many forms of coexistence on this planet, if it is to flourish in the long term. We are part of a complex, interwoven network; we don’t have to “go back to nature” – such expressions only demonstrate how distorted our vision is. We’re not disconnected – we’ve always been part of this network. What we need to do is become aware of it. There is no passive background; every form of existence shapes and influences the reality we experience. Every form of existence has a certain liveliness, whether its influence is intentional or not. Or, as Bruno Latour puts it: Being a subject does not mean acting autonomously on an objective framework, but sharing its impact with other subjects.

One of these subjects are glaciers. Being visual climate thermometers, they are usually portrayed and talked about from that perspective. This book project examines the many ways of glacial expression, the diverse shapes and colors they assume, how they influence their surroundings and how they mingle with it. Swiss photographer Julien Stettler looks at glaciers as living beings, as active protagonists in the web of reality. Glaciers are born out of the permanent metamorphosis from snow to ice. They are uniquely dynamic; viscous and brittle at the same time. From the human perspective, we can only ever perceive slices of them; they exist in a different time dimension, so vastly different that it goes beyond human grasp. With bacteria and algae teeming on their backs, they make their way down.