(Special Collections of the Norlin Library, at the University of Colorado at Boulder owns an original copy of this photograph)
Artist Statement
There are two major focal points for my art; first and foremost I focus on glaciers, for these under-looked natural wonders are the best signs of climate change, which is now mostly affected by human activities. I have spent more than half my life doing mountaineering and I have seen first hand the rapid deterioration of these beautiful icy features that are of so much importance to life in the planet. Second, I want to create awareness of the circumstances in which a vast portion of the world’s population lives in, while a minimal fraction of people maintains a deliberate consumerist lifestyle. After all, such type of lifestyle has been created on an unsustainable model; same that contributes to create the first condition –climate change— By means of electronic media (digital photography, video, sound, and lighting) I try to create a body of work that illustrates and criticizes this characteristic trend that modern society pursues. I believe that, by making a radical change in the way humans live and interact with the natural resources, and by embracing multicultural awareness and respect, we can restore the planet, and that is my ultimate goal as an artist.
Currently I am working with digital and electronic media to create immersive environments that represent the different layers of annual snow accumulation that compose any glacier. I use multi-channel video projections as the main element to construct such environments, but other elements, such as digitally recorded sound of wind and glacial-motion, as well as textiles are also employed in the creation of these installations.
Another area of my work is concerned with the effects of high altitude on the human body and the physical characteristics of high altitude mountaineering, such as repetition of movements, endurance, exhaustion, and delirium, which may be caused by oxygen depravation and/or exhaustion, hypothermia, hunger, and thirst.
Weddings
Alternative Medicine
To see more of Terraviva Productions, please visit our Flickr account