Glacial impermanence

Here is summit Breithorn , the mythical mountain of Zermatt. It peaks at 4160 m. In recent years, deep crevasses have appeared on the summit cap. It is certain that its shape will change rapidly as a result of global warming and the transformations of nature. Photographed in 2023, this work is an ode to this vanishing white beauty.

The photograph shows the massive layering of snow that forms the glacier. This abstract mille-feuille is of great beauty: the blackness of the rocks contrasts with the immaculate white of the ice, and the grey sky counterbalances the tones. The clean horizontal lines of the ice layers are lacerated by the imposing vertical crevasses. The succession of scorching summers now reveals monumental crevasses, whereas Breithorn used to be renowned for its gentle slopes.

The whole thing is still frozen at summit , but little by little, huge, century-old seracs will break away from the face and fall into nothingness. Nature has a way of creating unexpected shapes, then transforming and changing. This 4000-meter peak, considered one of the most accessible and easiest in the Valais Alps, could become increasingly dangerous and difficult to climb... beneath our feet, crevasses have been lurking and secretly awaiting the passage of climbers for centuries. With less and less snow covering them, even Breithorn is becoming a demanding climb.

I continue to be fascinated by these developments, which, it goes without saying, will become ever more violent and rapid in the future. This photograph, taken from the air, is not simply a snapshot of summit. It is a trace, a witness to the history of the Alps and to the history of mankind and its impact on nature. In a few years' time, this work, like many others produced recently, will become an archive. My artistic work will become the memory of this age-old ice that is inevitably disappearing.