Olafur Eliasson Brings Pieces of Actual Iceland Glacier to His EXPO 1 Exhibit at MoMA PS1 (PHOTOS)

When we heard that <a href="http://momaps1.org/">MoMA PS1</a> would be featuring a climate change-focused installation by <a href="http://www.olafureliasson.net/works.html">Olafur Eliasson</a> in its <a href="http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/about/">EXPO 1 exhibit</a>, we knew we had to check it out. But little did we know that the work, titled <a href="http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/module/olafur-eliasson-your-waste-of-time/">“Your waste of time”</a>, would feature actual shards of Iceland’s largest glacier, <a href="http://en.east.is/SearchResults/ViewAttraction/vatnajokul-national-park">Vatnajökul</a>. While it was figuratively (and literally) cool to be in the presence of such an endangered substance, we have to wonder if removing and transporting the blocks of ice and keeping them in an energy-gobbling refrigerated room really sends the right message...or perhaps that was Eliasson's point?

The oldest ice in the glacier is estimated to have originated some 800 years ago, around AD 1200, which sheds some light on the curious title of the piece.

As PS1 <a href="http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/module/olafur-eliasson-your-waste-of-time/">puts it</a> “the physical experience of centuries-old ice from the glaciers of Eliasson’s native Iceland makes tangible a history that extends beyond the human life span—time that is measured in thousands of years rather than mere decades.”

This is not Eliasson's first piece that engages the topic of disappearing glaciers, he has previously <a href="http://www.olafureliasson.net/works/melting_ice.html">photographed them </a> (on <a href="http://www.olafureliasson.net/works/the_glacierhouse_effect.html">multiple occasions </a>).

But while the immersive installation has powerful visual and conceptual components, Eliasson must have predicted that environmentally-conscious exhibition goers would offer criticism of his newest glacier project, which is kept cooled by the energy-costly refrigeration of the gallery space, so as to maintain a temperature below freezing.

We might ask, how much of a statement is Elaisson really making when “Your waste of time” makes us question the impact of modern lifestyles on centuries-old nature, but offers no progressive action?

We might ask, how much of a statement is Elaisson really making when “Your waste of time” makes us question the impact of modern lifestyles on centuries-old nature, but offers no progressive action?

This past Sunday, <a href="http://momaps1.org/">MoMa PS1</a> opened doors to their <a href="http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/about/">Expo 1 show</a>, which features a glacier installation by Icelandic artist, <a href="http://www.olafureliasson.net/works.html">Olafur Eliasson</a>, titled “Your waste of time”.

Eliasson’s piece is part of the large-scale festival, which is devoted to the themes of ecology and the pressing questions of our time.

<a href="http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/module/olafur-eliasson-your-waste-of-time/">“Your waste of time”</a> features shards of Iceland’s largest glacier, <a href="http://en.east.is/SearchResults/ViewAttraction/vatnajokul-national-park">Vatnajökul</a>, set inside a refrigerated room, where museum-goers may stand and walk around, and “contemplate” the piece.

<a href="http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/module/olafur-eliasson-your-waste-of-time/">“Your waste of time”</a> features shards of Iceland’s largest glacier, <a href="http://en.east.is/SearchResults/ViewAttraction/vatnajokul-national-park">Vatnajökul</a>, set inside a refrigerated room, where museum-goers may stand and walk around, and “contemplate” the piece.