STATEMENT
WATER: Solid to Liquid
Glacial ice is cold, colorful and melting. This thawing process is ruinous and gorgeous, inspiring and catastrophic. The contradictory feeling of being swept away by beauty while comprehending the devastation is the motivation for my work.
Water is the lifeblood of our planet. It sustains life and is 60% of our bodies. Oceans house 96% of our water and are salty. The majority of freshwater is in glacial ice.
This work is about the balance between liquid and frozen, salty and fresh; what is lost by melting and what will be revealed. Our planet needs us and action is required.
There are 50 pieces, ranging from 11” x 14” to 36” x 72”. The work is organized into three groups: Ice Melting, Ice Writing and the White Series. The first series is about the compelling forms created by the melting process. The second series addresses what will be revealed as ice thaws. Messages appear in a cross-cultural record of our linguistic symbols, showing us our history and ways to move forward. The White Series turns ice into water over a 10-part narrative progression.
Materials include ink, acrylic, oil paint, spray paint, epoxy resin, wax, glass, sand, plastic, glitter, salt, sugar, rocks, clay and found objects.
Bonus: White Series, Ellen Alt
BIOGRAPHY
Ellen Alt’s work is inspired by languages, alphabets and symbols. Starting with a calligraphy class in college, this interest has led from Cannonite pictograms, through the history of writing, to messages embedded in ice and floating in water as part of her recent work about climate change. Her mixed media work has been exhibited in the U.S, Germany, Russia, China, England and the Middle East. One of her pieces was presented to Hillary Clinton on the occasion of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan and is in the collection of the White House. Ms. Alt also organizes community sculpture and mural projects throughout the world. She holds an MA in studio art from New York University and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Ms. Alt lives in Manhattan with her husband, Carlos Narvaez, a photographer; and maintains a studio in Long Island City.