Temperatures in Antarctica have increased by 3 degrees Celsius in the Antarctic Peninsula. According to Discovering Antartica, this is “[five] times the mean rate of global warming as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).” Artist Zaria Forman documents the continent’s environmental shifts in her hyperrealistic pastel drawings of icebergs. From the artist:
Many of us are intellectually aware that climate change is our greatest global challenge, and yet the problem may feel abstract, the imperiled landscapes remote. I hope my drawings make Antarctica’s fragility visceral to the viewer, emulating the overpowering experience of being beside a glacier.
Forman studied real-life icebergs during her residency with National Geographic Explorer — but her first fascination with the giant floating masses started during a trip to Greenland. The artworks are awe-inspiring and quietly somber. Take a closer look on their Instagram.