Svalbard Ice

Svalbard Ice is part of a Climate Change series by BREAKFAST. The series explores up-to-the-minute climate change conditions across various highly affected locations throughout the world.

The balance of blue-discs to gold-discs is in a constant shift as the temperature level in Svalbard, Norway in the Arctic Circle rises and falls. Via a web connection, the piece pulls down the latest measurements every few seconds. As the temperature level rises over time, the visualization and interaction will become bluer and less gold.

While there is no one in front of the piece, a dynamic visualization representing the water level will animate, giving an indication of where the water level currently is. As one walks up to the piece, their image is reflected back, with the clarity of their image also being altered as the water level shifts. This creates the appearance that the water is slowly covering them more and more over time.

Flip-Discs are a medium patented by BREAKFAST and derived from an electromagnetic system that originated in industrial signage from the 1960s. The discs themselves have a thin magnet embedded at the center, sandwiched between two thin layers of plastic and coated in a finish material on each side. The discs rotate by changing the polarity across two pins.