‘The World of Ice’ by Reinhold Messner

Following the success of his ‘Yeti, Mount and Mystery” exhibition at Expo Hanover 2000, which received over 2.5 million visitors, Aramón and Leitner invited Reinhold Messner to create a new exhibition especially for Expo Zaragoza 2008.

Given that the theme of the Expo was the current global issue of ‘Water and Sustainable Development”, Reinhold Messner decided to dedicate his work to water’s most mesmerizing state: ice.

Some 86% of our planet’s fresh water reserves are stored in a solid state. This ice is our most valuable reserve to ensure our survival. Ice has always played an essential role in religion, traditions, literature, the arts and even music: as a myth, creator and destroyer of life, metaphor and symbol, magnificent natural spectacle, the conquered territory of Polar Regions, as a fascinating and threatening element, in the mountains as the home of the gods, or as a backdrop for winter sports.

In this exhibition, ice was explored from the point of view of contemporary art, as a juxtaposition of didactic approaches and other materials for reflection, and as a stimulus for the individual emotions and fantasies of the spectator.
To achieve this, Reinhold Messner invited a group of international artists, who, in different ways, have fully devoted themselves to giving shape to the world of ice.