Cyberfirn is a transnational art and research project that understands glaciers
in the Himalayas and the Alps as sensitive archives of climate change. Building
on field research conducted at the Ngozumpa Glacier in Nepal and at the
Pasterze Glacier in Austria.
At its core is the idea of glaciers as “whispering archives” that store not only
geological and atmospheric data, but also cultural, spiritual, and emotional
dimensions. Inspired by the Himalayan concept of Beyul—hidden valleys that
reveal themselves as sanctuaries in times of crisis—Cyberfirn brings together
scientific research with local narratives, interviews, and field recordings.
Rituals of remembrance, such as those held at Yala Glacier in Nepal as well
as in Switzerland and Iceland, serve as important references. From this, the
project develops an artistic practice of listening: using contact microphones,
hydrophones, 3D scans, and drone recordings, melting ice landscapes are
experienced as vibrating, transforming bodies.
The collected material will be translated into an immersive fulldome format
that allows audiences to enter a digital cryosphere. In this context, Cyberfirn
understands mourning not as an endpoint, but as a transformative threshold—
an invitation to reimagine the relationship between humans, technology, and
disappearing landscapes.