Eleven Movements of the Cryoscape – Ecological Explorations in Sonification for Affectively Engaging with Climate Change

In this paper we present the sound installation Eleven Movements of the Cryoscape which was created for the new Kangiata Illorsua – Ilulissat Icefjord Centre in Greenland. The installation is a near real-time sonification of the movement and melting of the Inland Ice, consisting of an array of eleven speakers, each transmitting from a different location in Greenland. The installation portrays the Inland Ice as a living, breathing, evolving organism in the age of the anthropocene, where humankind has made its mark on the very changes that occur to the natural sounds over time. The installation invites people into an affectively engaging and contemplative relation to our changing ecologies through sonification of data to reflect on our present condition and to potentially imagine and connect to new realities. In this paper, we present the process leading to the creation of the installation and how it adds to existing research into sonification and listening practices in artistic and design research.