Jakobshavn Glacier, Greenland (in progress)
Artist Zaria Forman uses her immense creative talent to document the devastating effects of climate change. For many years, she has produced large-scale landscape drawings using soft pastels. Rendered in hyperrealistic detail, the images are an incredible yet poignant representation of the majesty of glaciers that are rapidly deteriorating, despite their awe-inspiring size, because the Earth is getting warmer.
Forman’s previous soft pastel art depicts forms that are instantly recognizable as glaciers and icebergs. But since then, she has shifted her pictorial focus—essentially zooming out on the landscape. Forman has spent the last two years traveling with NASA’s science missions to track how ice is moving. The result is a collection that highlights what she saw when flying hundreds of feet over Antarctica and the Arctic. Working with scientists also inspired her to draw in an even more precise way, while leaving the overall composition more abstract.
No matter the format, the heart of Forman’s work remains the same. Every drawing is an opportunity to communicate the alarming rate at which the polar regions are melting. By showing what we have to lose, she implores us to urgently act in ways that help combat climate change.
Forman’s latest work is included in her solo exhibition titled Overview at Winston Wächter Fine Art in New York City. It will be on view from October 25 to December 21, 2018. In addition, her piece titled Jakobshavn Glacier, Greenland has been donated to the Global Wildlife Conservation benefit with Christie’s Auction House. You can bid on the drawing until November 6, 2018. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale, along with matching funds, will help purchase and conserve cloud forest acreage in Central America.
Zaria Forman spent two years traveling with NASA’s science missions to track how ice is moving.
Jakobshavn Glacier, Greenland
The results are large-scale soft pastel art that shows the alarming rate at which the polar regions are melting.
Lincoln Sea, Greenland (in progress)
Arctic Ocean (Northwest off the coast of Ellesmere Island, CAN)
Photo: Francois LeBeau
Weddell Sea (Southeast off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula)
Getz Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Garfield Glacier, Antarctica