The Earth suffers. And the mountains if possible even more. Climate change due to global warming is disrupting Alpine ecosystems. The latest special report of the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, also underlined: perennial glaciers are melting, oceans are rising, water reserves are at risk. And so are the economies of the highlands, which occupy over a quarter of the earth’s surface and host 15% of the world‘s population.
In less than two centuries the glacier area has shrunk by 60% and in 2100 it will disappear forever if action is not taken immediately to stop its melting: safeguarding the mountains means protecting the very life of about a quarter of the world‘s population.
The photographic exhibition “On the trail of the glaciers” was born from this urgency, presented today at the Milan Triennale. The exhibition, promoted by the Cariplo Foundation, tells how glaciers and landscapes are being transformed through a selection of photographic comparisons made over the last ten years by Fabiano Ventura. The protagonists of the exhibition are the most important glaciers in the world, considered by the international scientific community to be the sentinels of the climate change taking place on our planet.
Comparing glaciers: a photo taken by Vittorio Sella in 1890 and a photo of Ventura today
«“ On the trail of the glaciers ”is a visual communication project that aims to describe climate change through photography – explains the director of the project Fabiano Ventura -. Art has always influenced public opinion also on environmental issues: the project aims to use the technique of photographic comparison for scientific and informative purposes. The images testify to the retreat of the largest mountain glaciers on Earth and, combined with the scientific data collected, provide an immediate idea of the extraordinary climatic variations that our planet is experiencing. The aim is to make people aware of the climate change in progress, the vulnerability of mountain ecosystems and the urgency of sustainable development to protect the biodiversity of the high lands ».
To carry out the exhibition, 8 field expeditions were carried out on the five most important mountain ranges in the world: Alps, Caucasus, Andes, Karakorum and Himalaya. A total of 87 glaciers were analyzed and 200 photographic archives from around the world were scanned to select historical images of the glaciers and compare them with those of today.
“On the trail of the glaciers”, Triennale di Milano, viale Alemagna 6, until October 17 (Tuesday-Sunday 11-20), free admission, info: sulletraccedeighiacciai.com and triennale.org