“When the glaciers melt, will we melt then too?”

Gletscherfahrt, Ester Vonplon’s second book with b.frank books, is a collaboration with the Swiss musician Stephan Eicher. As in her first book cudesch da visitas, the cineastic character of the black and white photographs captures the viewer’s imagination. Vonplon photographed the Swiss glaciers for two years. During the summer months these glaciers are covered by enormous cloth panels to stop the melting process. Vonplon also recorded the sound of the purling Gletschermilch (glacial milk) with a highly sensitive microphone. Stephan Eicher then used these recordings as a starting point to compose a 21-minute audio-collage.

The abstract and atmospheric photographs, reinforced with the eerie sounds of Eicher’s music, reveal the use of the cloth panels as a desperate attempt to counteract the effects of climate change. Vonplon and Eicher’s collaboration is an important artistic commentary regarding our interaction with nature, a requiem for the glaciers. 

First edition: 2015 | 300 copies | softcover, 48 pages | 10inch EP on white vinyl | custom made slipcase | designed by Alexandra Bruns