The Ice Bear Project

Artist Mark Coreth sculpts animals. To create ice bear, he cast the form of a polar bear skeleton and submerged it in a tank of water. This was frozen. With razor sharp tools, he carved out the bear.

Now the work is melting, in Trafalgar Square. The thickness of the block was that of the ice in the Arctic. The piece represents mankind's acceleration of global warming and illustrates how the bear's habitat is disappearing.

When I saw the bear today, I was a little surprised that people were picking away at the ice. However, Mark was delighted and explained to me, "When people touch the ice with their hands, they also become the sculptors of the work." People accelerating the melting of the simulation, as we cause the global warming which melts the Arctic, adds poignancy to the work.

Photograph: mshdesign