90N Gallery: North Pole Dinner Party

On June 29th, 2008, Xavier Cortada arrived at the North Pole to create ritualistic installations addressing global climate change and the melting polar caps.  One of Cortada’s performances included a ritual where he fed his fellow travelers pieces of ice collected at the North Pole, thereby integrating the North Pole into their very being.

“I figured that if they ingested a piece of the North Pole, it would become part of them.” said Cortada. “The North Pole water molecules would be swirling through their bodies.  The North Pole atoms would be incorporated into their very cells.  My sense was that after having North Pole communion, they would protect the North Pole.  If nothing else, they would do so for self-preservation.”

Xavier Cortada, Ice Plate, North Pole Dinner Party (Miami): 90N6 , Sea Ice from the Geographic North Pole, pigment and glaze on ceramic plate, 2008

 

North Pole Dinner Party/Miami 2008: The Green Project | Claire Oliver Gallery

 

Xavier Cortada, Ice Plate, North Pole Dinner Party (Miami): 90N_ , Sea Ice from the Geographic North Pole, pigment and glaze on ceramic plate, 2008