Wax figures
Polar-bear models are cast in wax so that their form visibly changes as temperature rises.
Installation · 2023
The Blue Countdown
A heat-activated installation in which wax polar bears and their glacier slowly melt, transforming climate data into a physical countdown.
A heat-activated installation in which wax polar bears and their glacier slowly melt, transforming climate data into a physical countdown.
The Arctic is warming at roughly twice the global average. The Blue Countdown renders that distant statistic as an intimate material event: wax bodies soften, the glacier becomes water and each drip sounds like a ticking clock. The work asks a direct question—how much time remains before the process can no longer be reversed?
- Medium
- Wax, thermochromic pigment and electric ceramic heater
- Behaviour
- Heat-activated melting installation
- Sound
- Amplified or naturally audible water drips
- Year
- 2023
Project framework
Role, tools and collaboration
- Role
- Artist / maker
- Tools
- Installation
- Status
- Documented work · 2023
Process and approach
Thermochromic ground
The glacier base changes from white to blue when heat is activated, making temperature perceptible through colour.
Countdown
Melting wax and dripping water create a ticking rhythm, linking irreversible material change to diminishing time.
Original statement
The Blue Countdown represents the effects of rising temperatures on the Arctic. Wax polar bears slowly lose their form while the glacier beneath them melts into water, visualising an ecosystem warming at roughly twice the global average.
Material behaviour
The base is coated with thermochromic pigment that changes from white to blue when the ceramic heater is activated. As the wax melts, the sound of dripping water resembles a countdown timer. The work asks how much time remains—and what action is still possible before the process becomes irreversible.
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