The Ice Monolith

A
 monolith
 of
 ice
 of
 the
 Alps
 appears
 in
 Venice
 along
 the
 shore
 in
 Riva
 Cà
 di
 Dio
 and
 melts
 in
 the
 summer
 sun.
 A
 kubrickian
 metaphor
 questioning

 the
 serious
 process
 that
 is
 affecting
 the
 planet.
 Stefano 
Cagol, 
based 
in 
a 
village
 in
 the 
Alps 
and
 just
 back
 from
 projects 
in 
the 
Arctic 
region, 
is
 witnessing 
the 
ongoing 
vanishing
 of
 the 
so
called 
“eternal 
ice”. 
Ice 
melts 
to 
water. 
Water 
that 
in 
the
 next
 decades
 risks
 to
 overwhelm
 the
 most
 sensitive
 areas
 of
 the
 globe
 –
 firstly
 Maldives
 (but
 also
 Venice).
 Alps
 and
 Maldives,
 ice
 and
 sun,
 so
 far
 but
 so
 close,
 connected
 by
 the
 same
 fate.
 The
 Ice
 Monolith
 is
 a
 few
 hour‐action
 process
 which
 will
 happen
 during
 the
 opening:
 A
 disappearance.
 Its
 video
 documentation
 is
 on
 view
 in
 the
 Pavilion.
 In
 a
 further
 video
 installation
 mountains
 emerge
 from
 water
 –
 or
 disappear
 into
 it.
 Dilemmas,
 resources,
 strategies,
 utopias
 are
 faced
 also
 in
 a
 platform 
involving 
a 
wide 
circle; 
from
 curators 
to 
researchers, 
from
 dialogues 
to 
concerts, 
in
different
 moments 
and 
places 
– 
will 
capture 
the 
Maldives 
Pavilion 
in 
Venice, 
by 
Stefano 
Cagol’s 
studio 
at 
VIR
 Viafarini‐in‐residence 
in 
Milan, 
on 
the 
web, 
and
 on
 the
 top
 of 
alpine 
glaciers.

www.icemonolith-maldivespavilion.com

Courtesy
 of 
Oredaria 
Gallery, 
Rome
 (Italy