“Eccesso di ablazione” is an immersive sound installation composed of 38 audio speakers present in the hall of Serra Madre in Bologna. A holographic representation of the Adamello glacier from a sound perspective.

The work narrates and summarizes 24 hours of melting activity of the Adamello glacier through sound and temperatures. The data were collected as part of A Sound in Extinction, an experimental research project aimed at monitoring the implications of climate change on Alpine glaciers through sound analysis.

The performance presents this scientific data by creating an engaging perceptive and emotional dimension, offering a new perspective on the implications and negative consequences of climate change on fragile ecosystems. Currently, 92% of Alpine glaciers are at risk of disappearing by the end of the century.

Excess of Ablation entrusts the composition to the glacier itself, which orchestrates its own demise using its expressive alphabet.

The low frequencies linked to the powerful subglacial torrent that flows at the base of the glacier create a hypnotic and threatening drone; while the melting cascade, thumps, booms, dynamic movements, structural collapses, screeches generate notes on the medium and high frequencies, the result of reactions between water, ice and air.

The project is supported by Creative Living Lab – Edition 5, promoted by the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture: