TENT/
Argentiere Glacier

“This water had never been in touch with any type of cultivation and pollution created by humankind.”

In an occasion to connect with the Alpine landscape up close, an opportunity to travel and investigate these surroundings was offered in July 2019.

In June 2019, a crack manifested itself over a good part of the length of Argentière glacier. To its surface came a beautiful stream of water, which had been encapsulated by glacial ice. The water had been stored for an unknown length of time, but to all probability, a time-varying between 300 and 10 000 years in icy captivity. 

This water had never been in touch with any type of cultivation and pollution created by humankind. It was travelling down into the regular stream of Arve river, and further into Europe.

Within July 2019 the journey to Mont Blanc Massif to collect this unique water took place. 

By collecting at Argentiere surroundings resulted in both visual and audio material. A representation of the glacial landscape is put together in a video showing the journey. Next to that, a selection of the tiny wildly blooming flora on the most isolated meadows, located at 2800 metres altitude, was foraged, identified, for as far as the right literature was available, and then dried.

I collected 1,5 litres of the ancient glacial water. It is conserved in 30 bottles of 50ml, with proof of origin, to be kept by stakeholders as a keepsake on awareness.

2,5 litres of the same water was used to capture earth and air elements, so abundant in the Massif, to be transformed to a wild fermentation of hyperlocal and one of a kind beer; a recipe never to be repeated.