Oona Stern

APRIL 3, 2025
Iceline demo and presentation
NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Integrated Design & Media, in collaboration with XR Guild NYC

THANKS to:
NYU Tandon School of Engineering, XR Guild, National Science Foundation, Arctic Circle Residency, New York Hall of Science, New York Foundation for the Arts, NYS Council on the Arts, Puffin Foundation, Antarctic Artists & Writers Collective, City of Palo Alto, Collab, BKone, Cheryl E Leonard, Jesse Johnston, Katie Merz, Jeanne Hardy, Liz Slagus, Lao+Co, R Luke DuBois, Winslow Porter, Sara Stern, Alex Manuele, Donors, Collectors, Participants everywhere, and Mom ofc.

Iceline is an interactive video installation about melting glaciers and sea-level rise which addresses the relationship of people to natural phenomena; the audience is invited to coordinate in an effort to slow these effects of climate change. 

Iceline presents the Arctic Ocean at the boundary between above and below water, providing a portal into details of a chaotic, beautiful environment. With video and audio captured from the water in Liefdefjorden, Svalbard, Iceline shows the ocean aswarm with ice debris that makes their way from the crumbling terminal face of Monacobreen tidewater glacier to the open ocean to melt. This journey reflects the natural cycles of water, yet also reveals effects of climate change, melting polar icecaps, rising seas, and increasing occurrence of severe weather. "Iceline" showcases these effects, while addressing the relationship of people to natural phenomena. 

The video is a full-wall projection, establishing sense of scale, and the audience sees the Arctic as if they, too, are traveling the fjord and ocean. The sonic environment is crafted from field recordings of Arctic ice combined with sounds produced on stone slabs and other material from the region. The result is a whole body experience of being within the ocean. 

The interactivity is such that the behavior of viewers affects the narrative. If viewers are absent or dispersed throughout the space, the ice moves quickly, the audio disconcerting. If viewers converge on a single location, the visuals slow and the soundscape becomes peaceful. The message is direct: as people cooperate and behave collectively, natural processes within the environment are affected.

Public premiere - Code:ART Festival in Palo Alto, California, October 16-18, 2025

Concept, production, design, and video by Oona Stern. Audio by Cheryl E Leonard. Software by Jesse Johnson.

Selected for the Code:ART Festival in Palo Alto, California, October 16-18, 2025:

Iceline

An interactive video installation about melting glaciers and sea-level rise which addresses the relationship of people to natural phenomena; the audience is invited to coordinate in an effort to slow these effects of climate change. 

Concept, production, design, and video by Oona Stern. Audio by Cheryl E Leonard. Software by Jesse Johnson.

"Monacobreen" continuous loop. 2” sample.
Video, audio, rocks, paint; 12' x 14' x 14'. 2011
Audio and video field recordings from Liefdefjorden.
Collaboration with Cheryl E Leonard
Insomnia Future Music and Techno Festival. Kurant Gallery, Tromsø, Norway.

"Monacobreen" was the first in a series of pieces that comprise Adfreeze Project, the artists' collaborative exploration of the Svalbard region of the Arctic. The multi-media installation is based on the artists’ visit to Monaco glacier (Monacobreen) in Liefdefjorden, on the north side of Spitsbergen. Video projections, sound, and graphics are combined to transform the gallery into a mini-environment evocative of the fjord, conveying the nature of light, sound, space, and time from a remote region.

Combining scientific practices (research) with artistic ones (presentation), the goal of Adfreeze Project is to relate the characteristics of the Arctic: its temporal attributes, unique physicality, and spiritual presence. Adfreeze is part of a new generation of earthworks which seek not only to (re)present nature, but to facilitate the growing desire of people all over to live with nature rather than try to conquer it.

Videos

Because of the nuanced soundscape, all audio is best experienced with a headset or quality external speaker system.

Adfreeze Project

adfreeze - the process by which two objects are bonded together by ice formed between them

In October 2011 I participated with composer and instrument builder Cheryl E Leonard in The Arctic Circle residency program. This interdisciplinary expedition tours the high Arctic of the Svalbard archipelago aboard a specially outfitted sailing vessel. We began our collaboration Adfreeze Project during this residency.

Adfreeze Project is a journal of a remote, unique environment, where experience of the Spitsbergen region is captured and translated through a sound and visual artist team. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, we continue to develop works that respond to the schooner's locale - natural conditions, and the physical and cultural histories of land and sea.

Adfreeze Project is fiscally sponsored by New York Foundation for the Arts.

Additional collaborations with Cheryl E Leonard can be found on her website allwaysnorth.com