Shiro Takatani

Ice Core, 2005. DVD

Representing part of a 2,503-metre ice-core, drilled in 2005 at Dome Fuji in Antarctica, Shiro Takatani investigates how snow compacted into ice becomes a year-on-year archive of information, describing our planet’s history. By examining the air trapped in tiny bubbles within the ice, scientists can glean detailed information concerning the temperature and carbon dioxide content of the planet’s atmosphere over the past 800,000 years. The descending numbers chart the age of the ice core. In making this piece, Takatani worked directly with climate scientists, fusing the disciplines of science and art.

• Royal Academy of Arts