On Sunday, we are mourning the passing of a glacier in a ceremony of commemoration unlike any in human history. The glacier, situated north-east of Reykjavik, was known as OK, and it has melted away and is no more. This is a tragic event, not just for my fellow Icelanders, but for the entire world. Something that seemed eternal has vanished for ever – as a result of human activity and inaction.

A plaque at the site will mark this point in time. It sounds a warning, and is a call to arms, to every human being on this planet. Andri Snær Magnason, the Icelandic writer, conceived the inscription around a question to future generations: “We know what is happening and what needs to be done,” he wrote. “Only you know if we did it.”

The poignancy of this moment must not go to waste. On Monday, the prime ministers of the Nordic countries will gather in Iceland for their annual meeting, with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel as their guest. Climate change is on the agenda. There could hardly be a more appropriate moment to take the words on the plaque to heart. To show their recognition of the gravity of the situation, the Nordic countries must jointly declare a climate emergency.

The Nordic countries have powerful shared traditions and values – of democracy, social welfare, and culture. They are all striving to shape a strong environmental profile that combines not only giving up some goods and services that we have come to take for granted, but also enacting progressive policies that encourage investment in the green innovations that will contribute to our continued prosperity.

On this sad occasion, I call on the Nordic prime ministers – Mette Frederiksen (DK), Stefan Löfven (SE), Erna Solberg (NO), Katrín Jakobsdóttir (IS), Antti Rinne (FI), Aksel V. Johannesen (Faroe Islands), Kim Kielsen (Greenland), and Katrin Sjögren (Åland) – to act. They have a moral responsibility towards the future generations of the countries they represent. They also have an opportunity to forge a coalition that will show the leadership on climate change so badly needed in the world today.

Every glacier lost reflects our inaction. Every glacier saved will be a testament to the moral courage and sense of purpose that we can muster in the face of this emergency. One day, instead of mourning the loss of more glaciers, we must be able to stand tall in celebration of their survival - Olafur Eliasson

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Detail from The glacier series, 1999 (Tungnakvíslarjökull)

All of the Nordic countries comprise Arctic territories, where climate change has gone from theoretical predictions of the future to everyday reality. There is no longer any doubt that the climate in Arctic is changing markedly and rapidly. Glaciers and Ice caps are dwindling and the sea ice is shrinking, whit potentially catastrophic consequences for people throughout the world – rich or poor. The Nordic countries have a common interest and joint responsibility to protect the Arctic and act on the clear message the Arctic region sends to the world. Norden is a globally significant region and a joint action towards climate change is an opportunity for Norden to work jointly towards a common goal that transcends the sentimental cohesiveness and gives Norden a global, contemporary importance and relevance. Thus – let us jointly declare common action to limit the consequences of the current climate crisis - Minik Rosing, Prof. Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen

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Detail from The glacier series, 2019 (Tungnakvíslarjökull)

Extinction rebellion would love to hear a commitment, from the leaders of all countries, that immediate and serious action will be taken to first stop the harm, and then to begin repair of our planets climate. As we mourn the destruction of the natural, beautiful world we invite everybody to join us in peaceful rebellion. Let’s raise consciousness and transform our value systems - really sit with the feeling in our hearts at this moment and appreciate what is being irreversibly destroyed... and take our opportunity to act to stop it - Clare Farell, Extinction Rebellion

Arctic tree horizon, 2019 - part of Y/our future is now, Museu Serralves, Porto. Photo: Filipe Braga

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"How do you write a eulogy for a glacier? Think about it. How would you go about that, having grown up with glaciers as a geological given, a symbol of eternity? How do you say goodbye?" - Andri Snær Magnuson
A letter to the future - marks the first glacier in Iceland, Okjökull, lost to climate crisis. The former Okjökull glacier, which a century ago covered 15 sq km of mountainside in western Iceland and measured 50 metres thick, has shrunk to barely 1 sq km of ice less than 15 metres deep and lost its status as a glacier. The memorial is unveiled this weekend and is dated August 2019. It also carries the words “415ppm CO2”, referring to the record-breaking level of 415 parts per million of carbon dioxide recorded in the atmosphere in May this year

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The curious vortex, 2019 - part of Y/our future is now, Museu Serralves, Porto. Photo: Filipe Braga

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Little Sun and Scribit

Check out this cool collaboration between Little Sun and Scribit, a write-and-erase robot invented by Carlo Ratti, director at the Sensible City Lab at MIT

Livestream_Trailer

Tune in tomorrow In real life at Tate or on soe.tv, when we broadcast live from the studio. Send us a question via #askSOE on Twitter

BBC One Imagine, Olafur Eliasson: Miracles of Rare Device

BBC one Imagine, Olafur Eliasson: Miracles of Rare Device, now available to stream inside the UK

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Regenfenster, 1999 – In real life, Tate Modern, London

Regenfenster, 1999 - Tate Modern, London – 2019 - Photo: Anders Sune Berg
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Olafur interviewed on BBC Hard Talk

Watch Olafur in an interview with Zeinab Badawi on HARDtalk from the BBC. ‘How far can artists and their work change the world? Can artistic endeavour lead to concrete action to mitigate the impact of global warming, or is this fanciful? Zeinab Badawi is at the Tate Modern in London to interview award-winning Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson about his new exhibition and why he believes art can be a force for good in the world.’ – HARDtalk

‘Beauty’ archive, 1993–2016

‘Beauty’ archive, 1993–2016 - Now part of In real life, Tate Modern, London

In real life, Tate Modern, 2019, trailer
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Big Bang Fountain, 2014 - In real life, Tate Modern, London

Cirkelbroen

Cirkelbroen, 2015, Copenhagen

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How do you navigate in times of uncertainty?
Din blinde passager (your blind passenger), 2010, part of In real life, opens tomorrow at Tate Modern, London
Photo: Anders Sune Berg

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Moss wall, 1994 - part of In real life, Tate Modern, London
Photo: Anders Sune Berg

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As part of In real life at Tate Modern, a section called The Expanded Studio will present – in the form of films, objects, and printed matter – much of the other work the studio does parallel to producing artworks: the social business Little Sun, the architecture of Studio Other Spaces, the SOE Kitchen, workshop collaborations, and our growing studio library

Within The Expanded Studio, we’ve put up a long and brimming pin-wall that features many of our studio projects alongside the work of other artists and thinkers – artworks, design, activism, newspaper articles, essays, book excerpts – all organised by alphabetical theme, from A-Z, filling a 24-metre-long pin-wall. With this ‘ideas map’, we want to share what is on our minds at the studio day-to-day, and to invite visitors to think along with us about the themes that excite us the most. In this way we hope to make visible the larger context within which Olafur, the studio team, and our collaborators work together. You can see a full list of contents here

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What has been the single biggest influence on the studio over the years? What’s your favourite colour? Does the studio have a mission? Have there been any material discoveries at SOE? How many different nationalities work at the studio? What keeps you up at night? What is the studio’s spirit animal? How do you make your kombucha, and how many litres of kombucha does the studio drink in one year? How do you go about researching geometry?

Over the course of Olafur’s exhibition In real life at Tate Modern, we will be responding to questions you post on Twitter with #askSOE. What would you like to ask the studio team? We’re already starting to collect questions today and will continue to throughout the run of the exhibition - you can see all the responses: here

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Your planetary window, 2019 - part of In real life, Tate Modern - opens Thursday!

Testing the new artwork Waterfall, 2019

Testing Waterfall, Berlin, 2019 - Now in front of Tate Modern, as part of the exhibition In real life - opens Thursday

Studio Visits: Mary Robinson – Climate justice is a very people-centred approach to climate change

On the occasion of the launch of her new book, ‘Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future’, Mary Robinson recently joined us at the studio to discuss the motivation behind her passionate campaign for climate justice

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