Ellen Mueller

Burning Ice

The earth has been shaped, both physically and socially, by a striking landscape carved out by glaciers. However, with the acceleration of global climate change, these glaciers are shrinking at a rapid pace, causing environmental and social upheaval. It is the shrinking borders of glaciers — and the forces causing this change — that I am focusing on in this body of work.

This series consists of a graphite renderings of satellite imagery of Icelandic glaciers and mountain-top removal sites in West Virginia. The creation of these works was funded in part by a Puffin Foundation grant, and completed at Nes Artist Residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland, summer 2013.

The drawings are also published in a short book, Burning Ice, available online.