HIGH PEAKS: HIMACHAL (Snow Mountain) (2023)

Acrylic paint, vinyl paste, wood and foam armature, recycled polyester battens.
20′ x 16′ x 9′

This sculpture installation marks the premiere of the artist’s work on the Himalayas, where he traveled to do field research in 2015. Here, he renders Mount Everest and its neighbors on pedestals that reach toward the ceiling of the gallery. Yet the mountains appear to be melting down the pedestal sides, as if the earth itself has collapsed.

The artist developed these works in response to newly announced scientific research, which confirms that the Himalaya glaciers are melting far faster than previously predicted, on track to lose 80% of glaciers by 2100. This, in turn, will have a domino effect on billions of people in Asia, and be felt as far away as the US.

This work exemplifies the artist’s concept of the “hybrid” sculpture. This is a whimsical presentation, not a scientific rendering. It allows for a moment of light-heartedness, and then offers a contemplation of the reality of these mountains, their glaciers, and their connection to the world around them.

Commissioned by The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery

Associated projects: Research: Himalayas, Nomadic Landscape, Pyramiden/ Permafrost