Passersby in Buenos Aires can see Fractal Arch, Erebus Ice Tongue Cave, my photograph of baroque ice formations against the baroque revival design of the exterior the Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes. You might be surprised to learn that this gorgeous building in the style of a French renaissance palace covered in some 300,000 glazed ceramic tiles imported from Royal Doulton in Britain was originally designed to house the city's water pumping station. It still houses the offices and archives of AySA, the Argentine water and sanitation authority. AySA operates an active cultural program there, including an indoor museum. Last year they instituted a series of thematic outdoor photography group exhibitions overseen by curator and photographer Alejandro Chaskielberg, of which this installment, titled Tributo, is the second in the series, on view April to August 2023. More about the exhibition (in Spanish) at AySA's website. They've also been posting about the show on Instagram @aysa.cultura.
About Fractal Arch: The Erebus ice tongue is the end of a glacier that extends onto the sea ice on McMurdo Sound. A small opening in the tongue leads to an ice cave containing unusual and fragile ice crystal structures, accessible only a few weeks a year. Deep inside it is pitch dark. My mountaineer companion became my photo assistant as I directed him to backlit these features with a lamp he had brought inside.
Photos of the installation by Alejandro Chaskielberg.
