ARCHIVE OF VATNAJOKULL

KATIE PATERSON

Glaciers represent the largest reservoir of freshwater on the planet – some 70% of all the freshwater on earth. Many go through seasonal cycles, storing water during one season and releasing it during the next. Plants, animals, and one third of the human population depend on this meltwater for their freshwater supply. For her project, Archive of Vatnajökull (the sound of), artist Katie Patterson installed an underwater microphone in Jökulsárlón lagoon, an outlet glacial lagoon of Vatnajökull, filled with icebergs. This microphone was connected to an amplifier and a mobile phone, creating a live phone-line to the glacier. The glacier’s phone number - 07757001122 - could be called from any telephone in the world, and would put the listener through to Vatnajökull. In the archive of this work exhibited at Science Gallery, a book of telephone numbers that dialled Vatnajökull is displayed along with a sound recording of the live phone line to the glacier.