The Astronut Studio will participate in the MIA Photo Fair in the “FOREIGN SECTION – FOCUS SWITZERLAND” sponsored by the Swiss Consulate in Milan, with an exhibition project titled “The glacier is ice, the ice is water, the water is life” curated by Clelia Patella.
“`
The work of The Astronut, a visionary artist who uses technology to provoke reflections through human emotion, addresses one of the most urgent issues of our time: the climate crisis.
With this immersive and interactive installation, the audience is engaged in an experience that combines art, science, and spirituality, focusing on the fragility of the Aletsch glacier, the largest in the Alps and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Thanks to artificial intelligence and a sophisticated sound design, the installation transforms scientific data into a visual and sound narrative that invites reflection on our impact on the planet.
The work is inspired by the centuries-old tradition of the inhabitants of Fiesch, in Switzerland, who since 1674 prayed to stop the advance of the Aletsch and Fiescher glaciers and since 2019 has become an appeal to stop their retreat.
Today, the danger is no longer the expansion of glaciers, but their rapid melting.
THE INSTALLATION
The work originates from a profound reflection by the artist on the nature and collective responsibility of environmental conservation.
Since 1674, the inhabitants of Fiesch, a village in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland, have undertaken an annual religious rite in which they asked God to stop the threatening advance of the glaciers. With climate change, the danger has radically transformed: today, the threat is the rapid melting of the glaciers. In 2019, the local community, with the approval of the Vatican, decided to update this prayer, now dedicated to the protection and conservation of the glaciers themselves.
The immersive sound installation is characterized by spatialized audio in forty of the most widely spoken languages in the world, creating a global and universal experience. Starting from photos and scientific data of the glacier, the artist chooses to emphasize an emerging concept: the glacier as an holobiont, that is, a complex and living organism formed by the symbiosis of abiotic and biotic elements in a vital network of interconnections. This approach highlights how we, as human beings, are also an integral part of nature and how fundamental our cooperation and interconnection with the environment is.
Through artificial intelligence, the scientific data related to the melting of the glacier is transformed into a continuously evolving visual interaction. The audience is invited to recite the prayer-mantra “The Glacier is ice, the Ice is water, the Water is Life” in front of a large ledwall.
This sentence, repeated in spatialized audio in the 40 main languages of the world, transforms the experience into a powerful immersive installation. Each vocal intervention by the visitor visually slows down the degradation and suffering of the glacier, symbolically reminding us of the effectiveness and strength of individual actions.
The installation aims to return to the visitor the sense of individual and collective responsibility, reaffirming the value and effectiveness of our daily actions in the preservation of life on our planet.
“The prayer of the inhabitants of Fiesch, transformed in 2019 into an appeal to stop the retreat of the glaciers, is a prayer of hope and also a warning, whose repetition by the viewer in front of the ledwall becomes an integral part of the evolutionary process of the work. The active participation of the public is therefore a symbolic act that invites everyone to reflect on their individual responsibility: the awareness of how, even through a simple gesture, every action can contribute to determining the course of events.
The interaction between the individual and the glacier, through the repetition of the prayer, goes beyond mere ritual action; it becomes a symbol of the power that each person has in changing the reality that surrounds them.
In a world where the urgency of the climate crisis is evident to everyone, “Il ghiacciaio è ghiaccio, il ghiaccio è acqua, l’acqua è vita” is not just a work of art, but an invitation to reflect on the deep connection that exists between the environment and our collective consciousness. Every word spoken by the visitor becomes a drop that can potentially stop global warming, a drop that is all the more powerful the more it is shared.
The connection between culture, spirituality, and climate change emerges dramatically in this work, which leads the viewer to recognize the crisis not as a distant phenomenon, but as a reality that concerns each of us.
The prayer of the inhabitants of Fiesch, which has crossed centuries of history, today becomes an act of faith not only towards nature, but towards humanity itself. It is no longer just an important religious rite, but also an act of care for our world.
With this project, The Astronut intends to shake consciences to provoke an inner change in visitors.
In an era in which the speed of environmental transformations is alarming, the artist asks us to stop, reflect, and act, even through the simple act of repeating a prayer. The hope is that, in this encounter between art, science, and spirituality, the visitor can understand that every action, even the smallest, has a weight in determining the future.
In this sense, the work becomes a form of aesthetic activism, a deep reflection on our environmental impact and the importance of acting now to protect what remains of our natural heritage. “The glacier is ice, the ice is water, the water is life” is an invitation not to remain indifferent, but to do our part. Now.”
THE PROJECT IN THE CONTEXT OF MIA PHOTO FAIR 2025
The FOREIGN SECTION – FOCUS SWITZERLAND is curated by Rischa Paterlini and sponsored by the Swiss Consulate in Milan. The work of The Astronut Studio fits perfectly into the theme DIALOGUES of this new edition of MIA Photo Fair BNP Paribas, developing a dialogue between man and nature, between faith and science, between action and awareness.
Furthermore, the message aligns with the words of Papa Francesco, who in the year of the Giubileo emphasizes the importance of hope and trust in the future.
With “Il ghiacciaio è ghiaccio, il ghiaccio è acqua, l’acqua è vita”, The Astronut invites us to reflect and act: a work that not only raises awareness but also asks each of us to become part of the change.
The Astronut at My Photo Fair
Massimiliano Ionta artist, producer, and musician has been working for over 20 years in the field of sound and art. In 2001, he founded the “Start-Studios,” the first digital recording studio in Italy and a factory of musical artistic production with now more than twenty years of activity, collaborating with significant artists of Italian music.
Composer of soundtracks and responsible in 2010 for the permanent archaeological museum installations of Piero Angela and Paco Lanciano.
In 2017, in line with the concept of dematerialization of the human being into digital consciousness, he himself becomes the flesh avatar of the artist “The Astronut,” debuting in the conceptual art scene and continuing to explore the new frontiers of digital media.
Exhibits ‘Kimono Tales’ at the Carrousel du Louvre during Fotofever Paris, finalist for the Fondazione Amedeo Modigliani award, wins the RAW meet Miami New Media Festival with the video sound-art work ‘Singularity’. The work of The Astronut mainly focuses on the creation of immersive installations in spatial audio and 3D Design, immersive Video, NFT, metaverse in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.
In the installation presented at the Triennale di Milano with spatialized sound in augmented reality, it transcends the boundaries between art and technology by creating immersive artistic experiences through the use of sound that can be shared inclusively, allowing everyone, regardless of their visual abilities, to participate in the digital revolution of art. Furthermore, with a message without judgment, it is committed to using art as a tool for raising awareness in favor of the environment through the sustainable use of resources.
Who is Clelia Patella?
Curator, writer, and journalist. She writes for important publications, including il Giornale and La Lettura – Corriere della Sera. Actively involved in art communication, she collaborates with prestigious national and international museums. She curates exhibitions that explore the frontiers of digital art.
She is the author of the book “Selfieadarte – l’Arte al tempo dei Social” published by Ultra, 2019.
She curated and hosted on Radio24 “Lo Stato dell’Arte”, a program focused on new technologies applied to art. She is a member of the Cultural Ethics Committee of the Amedeo Modigliani Foundation. For years, she has been a reference figure among cultural disseminators, thanks to her commitment to promoting the dialogue between art and society.
The installation will be open for visits from March 20 to 23, 2025, within the FOREIGN – FOCUS SWITZERLAND Section at Mia Photo Fair at Superstudio Più in Milan (STAND D 032).
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
