New Heaven and New Earth

Aletsch Glacier 2022

“New Heaven and New Earth” consists of images from the Aletsch and Rhône glaciers in the Alps, both scarred by global warming. The photographs examine the traces of environmental and climate impact in a world where belief in technological progress and the anthropocentric worldview dominate our society and our lives. The paradox is that the industrial and technological development that has given us our material prosperity is also the cause of the existentially unsustainable situation we find ourselves in.

Aletsch is Central Europe’s largest glacier, surrounded by a magnificent mountain landscape featuring several high peaks. The Aletschhorn at 4,193 meters is the coldest mountain in the entire Alps. It is unthinkable that the glacier consisting of 11 billion tons of ice will melt away in the near future and leave large parts of Europe dry. At the Rhône Glacier, the melting is quite obvious. For generations, a cave has been carved out of the ice every year. Now the glacier is shrinking by 10 centimeters every day, and in a desperate attempt to slow down the melting, the ice is covered with heat-protective fabric. Year after year, the entrance to the cave is moved further and further up the mountain, as the glacier shrinks.

The climate and the environment are issues that worry many other people today. Issues that were not long ago overshadowed by economics and belief in progress are once again at risk of being forced to take the back seat to war and economic growth — all while the earth, as we know it and our lives depend on, is undergoing irreversible changes.

Rhône Glacier 2022

Installation image Katarina Church 2025

Installation image Katarina Church 2025