Melanie Mowinski and Joseph Ostraff. Okjokull, agust 2019-Vatnajokull, agust 2219, An Announcement for a funeral 200 years in the future

2019. Book Arts. 28X21X4in

We are part of an artist collective that first met together in Reykjavik, Iceland in August 2019. That same month, a unique funeral was held. Oddur Sigurðsson, one of Iceland’s leading glaciologists, declared Okjökull glacier dead and held a funeral marking the event. Although we are not residents of Iceland, we reside in a country that is one of the leading contributors to global warming, affecting the glaciers of Iceland. These glaciers are a strong indicator of environmental health on a global level. Experts have predicted that if current trends continue, within 200 years all glaciers will be gone from Iceland. Vatnajökull is the largest, so we are assuming that it will be the last to go. Inspired by the funeral held for Okjökull, we have collected materials from downtown Reykjavik in August 2019 and added new typography to create collaged posters announcing a funeral for Vatnajökull set 200 years in the future. We have made twelve sets of two hundred posters, with one poster for each year leading up to 2219. Each August, a poster announcing the death of Vatnajökull will be stamped with that month and year and waiting until the following year when the process will be repeated. Theoretically, this performative activity will go on until the actual death of Vatnajökull or until there is a reversal in the current trend. The idea of 200 years is conceptual. It is our intention to generate dialogue and awareness.