Arts, Culture, and Heritage as Drivers of Change
Time Capsule
Time Capsule
Time Capsule is a transdisciplinary art–science project born from an Arctic expedition with polar researchers. Using thin sections of glacial ice as optical devices, it reveals how light passing through ancient air bubbles projects shifting spectra tied to past atmospheres. By turning ice, data and climate archives into sensory artworks and anticipatory narratives, it makes fragile environmental systems and deep time perceptible before they disappear, bringing time into contemporary debate.
France
Local
The Time Capsule project has been implemented at an international and European cultural level, through exhibitions, research collaborations and public presentations across several countries.
The work has been presented in major cultural institutions and exhibitions in cities such as Brussels, Paris, Nice, Amsterdam, Vienna, Arles, Tokyo, Liège, Luxembourg, or Berlin and Guangzhou reaching audiences in both artistic and scientific contexts. Thanks to the presence in 20 exhibitions and festivals it could reach at least 150 000 visitors and hundreds during 10 conferences.
The project will still travel and be exhibited further in order to address larger audiences, and prizes like the New European Bauhaus could help it reach even more people.
The work has been presented in major cultural institutions and exhibitions in cities such as Brussels, Paris, Nice, Amsterdam, Vienna, Arles, Tokyo, Liège, Luxembourg, or Berlin and Guangzhou reaching audiences in both artistic and scientific contexts. Thanks to the presence in 20 exhibitions and festivals it could reach at least 150 000 visitors and hundreds during 10 conferences.
The project will still travel and be exhibited further in order to address larger audiences, and prizes like the New European Bauhaus could help it reach even more people.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It involves other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
2025-12-12
No
No
Yes
Individual
Water systems are central to the Earth’s climate balance, and polar ice functions as one of the planet’s most important environmental archives.
Time Capsule is a transdisciplinary art–science project centred on air bubbles trapped in ice cores. Using glacial ice as an optical medium, the project explores the atmosphere’s past and the deep temporalities stored within polar ice. Thin sections of ice containing air bubbles are used as lenses: as light passes through them, it projects part of the spectrum onto a sensitive surface on the wall. This spectral image shifts according to the composition of the trapped air. The project is currently accompanied by an ongoing analysis of what these colours may reveal about past climates.
By transforming scientific samples into visual artworks, Time Capsule makes otherwise invisible processes perceptible. It offers insight into ancient air and lost climates, while highlighting the disappearance of polar ice not only as an environmental crisis, but also as the loss of a form of planetary memory. As ice melts and oceans warm, many of these environmental narratives risk disappearing before they are fully understood.
For me, it is also important that the project invites audiences to reflect on a more-than-human temporality — one that places us within a much larger historical and planetary timescale.
In the long term, Time Capsule aims to strengthen dialogue between art, science and society by developing new ways of communicating environmental research through sensory and cultural experience. By translating complex scientific observations into visual, aesthetic and affective forms, the project contributes to raising awareness of the need to protect glaciers, oceans and planetary water systems.
Through the prism of light, Time Capsule reveals the story of time and helps build new cultural imaginaries that foster environmental awareness and collective responsibility for fragile ecosystems.
Time Capsule is a transdisciplinary art–science project centred on air bubbles trapped in ice cores. Using glacial ice as an optical medium, the project explores the atmosphere’s past and the deep temporalities stored within polar ice. Thin sections of ice containing air bubbles are used as lenses: as light passes through them, it projects part of the spectrum onto a sensitive surface on the wall. This spectral image shifts according to the composition of the trapped air. The project is currently accompanied by an ongoing analysis of what these colours may reveal about past climates.
By transforming scientific samples into visual artworks, Time Capsule makes otherwise invisible processes perceptible. It offers insight into ancient air and lost climates, while highlighting the disappearance of polar ice not only as an environmental crisis, but also as the loss of a form of planetary memory. As ice melts and oceans warm, many of these environmental narratives risk disappearing before they are fully understood.
For me, it is also important that the project invites audiences to reflect on a more-than-human temporality — one that places us within a much larger historical and planetary timescale.
In the long term, Time Capsule aims to strengthen dialogue between art, science and society by developing new ways of communicating environmental research through sensory and cultural experience. By translating complex scientific observations into visual, aesthetic and affective forms, the project contributes to raising awareness of the need to protect glaciers, oceans and planetary water systems.
Through the prism of light, Time Capsule reveals the story of time and helps build new cultural imaginaries that foster environmental awareness and collective responsibility for fragile ecosystems.
This project stems from a fascination with air bubbles as samples travelling through time, carrying within them an extraordinary amount of information. They are almost like archives of the planet. From the beginning, the project was driven both by this idea of time travel and by the question of scale — moving from the geological to the microscopic, and then back again to the human scale. These are dimensions that are very difficult for us to truly comprehend in their full immensity.
Within this wider research, I developed projects using different materials. I explored scientific instruments that use light, as well as the histories of science, technology and photography. What fascinates me is how these tools make the invisible perceptible.
These works function as forms of time capsules. For Time Capsule, I used vectra photogrammetry, enlarging the air bubble as a subject. As light passes through it, it produces a spectral image that shifts with its position and chemical composition — a portrait of time rendered through prism-like light.
This opens an important narrative space, allowing us to imagine and reflect within today’s context.
With the support of the Polar Institute and the Tara Foundation, I developed part of the project during a four-month Arctic expedition, working alongside researchers. Immersed in this environment, I created techniques to capture its unique optical phenomena.
This research was later translated into installations and exhibitions, bringing polar knowledge into accessible cultural spaces. It deepened my understanding of natural phenomena and our impact on climate change.
Through these presentations, Time Capsule raises awareness of the fragility of glaciers, oceans and aquatic ecosystems, while fostering dialogue between art, science and society, and strengthening public engagement with environmental issues.
Within this wider research, I developed projects using different materials. I explored scientific instruments that use light, as well as the histories of science, technology and photography. What fascinates me is how these tools make the invisible perceptible.
These works function as forms of time capsules. For Time Capsule, I used vectra photogrammetry, enlarging the air bubble as a subject. As light passes through it, it produces a spectral image that shifts with its position and chemical composition — a portrait of time rendered through prism-like light.
This opens an important narrative space, allowing us to imagine and reflect within today’s context.
With the support of the Polar Institute and the Tara Foundation, I developed part of the project during a four-month Arctic expedition, working alongside researchers. Immersed in this environment, I created techniques to capture its unique optical phenomena.
This research was later translated into installations and exhibitions, bringing polar knowledge into accessible cultural spaces. It deepened my understanding of natural phenomena and our impact on climate change.
Through these presentations, Time Capsule raises awareness of the fragility of glaciers, oceans and aquatic ecosystems, while fostering dialogue between art, science and society, and strengthening public engagement with environmental issues.
Water ecosystems
Public engagement
Light phenomenon
Climate Awareness
Art-science collaborations
The project addresses the disappearance of polar ice and the environmental archives it contains. By revealing the atmospheric and ecological histories embedded within glaciers, Time Capsule highlights the urgency of protecting fragile water ecosystems. It contributes to ecological awareness by transforming complex climate research into tangible cultural experiences that communicate the impact of global warming. I work with processes that are respectful of nature, and it is important to me not to leave any trace in the landscapes I engage with. An essential aspect of this approach is exploring how to produce photographic images without the use of toxic materials.
The project explores the intrinsic beauty of natural processes. The works are generated through interactions between light, ice crystals and environmental data, producing spectral colours and structures that reveal the hidden architecture of frozen water. This approach resonates closely with the New European Bauhaus principle that environmental awareness can emerge through powerful aesthetic experiences. In the exhibition context, my work first draws visitors in through its aesthetic qualities; only afterwards do they begin to engage with the context and meaning of the work. Aesthetics therefore play a crucial role in shaping the first encounter. As a visual artist, it is also important for me to challenge the photographic medium in order to reveal things in ways viewers are not accustomed to seeing. Here is a video explaining perfectly the connection between aesthetics and research background : https://www.instagram.com/p/DMtLynhNFBQ/
Time Capsule contributes to inclusion by making research on climate and environmental change accessible through visual art, and in that level it makes science less approachable for a bigger audience. It translates knowledge produced in remote polar and oceanic environments into forms that can be encountered and understood by non-specialist audiences.
The project is presented in museums, biennials and public cultural programmes that reach varied audiences, including school groups. Many of these contexts are free or publicly accessible, which helps make the work available to people from different backgrounds.
Its presentation in different countries also gives the project a broader public reach. By focusing on glaciers, oceans and water systems, it addresses environmental issues that concern all societies and makes them tangible in cultural spaces.
The project is also shared online via social media and podcasts by me and by partner institutions, which extends access beyond the exhibition space. I am currently working on the book with the Paris-based publishing house EXB. The publication will unfold all the layers of the Time Capsule project — from fieldwork to book sketches and experimental processes — revealing its full sedimentation. Conceived as a comprehensive volume, it will be published on the occasion of Paris Photo 2026. I will be delighted to share a first maquette with you very soon.
The project is presented in museums, biennials and public cultural programmes that reach varied audiences, including school groups. Many of these contexts are free or publicly accessible, which helps make the work available to people from different backgrounds.
Its presentation in different countries also gives the project a broader public reach. By focusing on glaciers, oceans and water systems, it addresses environmental issues that concern all societies and makes them tangible in cultural spaces.
The project is also shared online via social media and podcasts by me and by partner institutions, which extends access beyond the exhibition space. I am currently working on the book with the Paris-based publishing house EXB. The publication will unfold all the layers of the Time Capsule project — from fieldwork to book sketches and experimental processes — revealing its full sedimentation. Conceived as a comprehensive volume, it will be published on the occasion of Paris Photo 2026. I will be delighted to share a first maquette with you very soon.
The project is participatory in the way it is developed and activated. It is rooted in direct collaboration with multidisciplinary research teams during polar expeditions, where scientific observation and artistic investigation inform one another.
In its exhibition and public programme formats, Time Capsule also creates opportunities for exchange with audiences through talks, discussions and educational activities. These formats allow visitors, researchers and cultural institutions to engage with one another around the environmental questions raised by the work. In many cases, the exhibitions and biennials in which the work is presented also develop mediation tools such as texts, audio guides and guided tours. I always contribute as much content as possible to these materials, which help audiences engage more deeply with the project.
In its exhibition and public programme formats, Time Capsule also creates opportunities for exchange with audiences through talks, discussions and educational activities. These formats allow visitors, researchers and cultural institutions to engage with one another around the environmental questions raised by the work. In many cases, the exhibitions and biennials in which the work is presented also develop mediation tools such as texts, audio guides and guided tours. I always contribute as much content as possible to these materials, which help audiences engage more deeply with the project.
Time Capsule depends on collaboration with partners working at different levels. The research phase was made possible through the support of scientific institutions such as the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Tara Foundation, as well as through daily exchange with multidisciplinary research teams during the expedition. Their role was practical, scientific and methodological: they provided access, knowledge, logistical support and critical feedback during the development of the work.
The presentation phase relies on cultural partners such as museums, biennials and art institutions in different cities and countries. Their role is to host the work, frame it for audiences and support public and educational programmes around it.
The added value of this multi-level involvement is that it connects remote research contexts with public cultural spaces. It allows the project to move from field research to public presentation through a network of partners with different roles and expertise.
The presentation phase relies on cultural partners such as museums, biennials and art institutions in different cities and countries. Their role is to host the work, frame it for audiences and support public and educational programmes around it.
The added value of this multi-level involvement is that it connects remote research contexts with public cultural spaces. It allows the project to move from field research to public presentation through a network of partners with different roles and expertise.
Through this combination of artistic practice, environmental science, technology and public education, Time Capsule operates as a transdisciplinary project linking different forms of knowledge and expertise.
Time Capsule operates through a hybrid cultural and research-based model combining artistic production, scientific collaboration and public dissemination.
The project is developed through partnerships with research institutions, environmental organisations and cultural venues. Fieldwork and research phases are carried out in collaboration with scientific institutions studying polar and ocean ecosystems and I could join these initiatives by winning the competitions they organise.
Financial support comes from a combination of research grants and artistic stipendiums, cultural funding programmes, artist residencies and partnerships with institutions. Exhibitions and commissions also contribute to the sustainability of the project, allowing the research to be further developed and shared with wider audiences.
The most expensive part of the project was its development which is entirely covered. The travels and project presentations are today covered in the context of the exhibitions by different inviting institutions.
Recognition through initiatives such as the New European Bauhaus Prize would significantly support the scalability of the project by facilitating new partnerships and enabling its integration into more accessible public contexts.
It could also help in rejoining other expeditions and produce further work!
The project is developed through partnerships with research institutions, environmental organisations and cultural venues. Fieldwork and research phases are carried out in collaboration with scientific institutions studying polar and ocean ecosystems and I could join these initiatives by winning the competitions they organise.
Financial support comes from a combination of research grants and artistic stipendiums, cultural funding programmes, artist residencies and partnerships with institutions. Exhibitions and commissions also contribute to the sustainability of the project, allowing the research to be further developed and shared with wider audiences.
The most expensive part of the project was its development which is entirely covered. The travels and project presentations are today covered in the context of the exhibitions by different inviting institutions.
Recognition through initiatives such as the New European Bauhaus Prize would significantly support the scalability of the project by facilitating new partnerships and enabling its integration into more accessible public contexts.
It could also help in rejoining other expeditions and produce further work!
Time Capsule has transferability in several forms. The project can be presented through exhibitions, educational programmes and public workshops in different cultural and institutional contexts.
It also contributes to art–science collaboration methodology. One important aspect of the project is the development of a working model in which artists and scientists both benefit from the exchange, while the resulting work helps mediate between research and the public.
As part of this research, I also developed experimental visual protocols and tools, which are now being further refined together with the Fine Arts Academy of Antwerpen and which I hope to publish in open access.
The same creation process could be also applied to other places and to address air / water environments. It could be expanded to different locations.
More broadly, the project offers a model for communicating environmental science through cultural formats. By translating scientific observation into visual and exhibition-based forms, it provides methods that can be adapted by cultural institutions, research centres and environmental organisations in other contexts.
It also contributes to art–science collaboration methodology. One important aspect of the project is the development of a working model in which artists and scientists both benefit from the exchange, while the resulting work helps mediate between research and the public.
As part of this research, I also developed experimental visual protocols and tools, which are now being further refined together with the Fine Arts Academy of Antwerpen and which I hope to publish in open access.
The same creation process could be also applied to other places and to address air / water environments. It could be expanded to different locations.
More broadly, the project offers a model for communicating environmental science through cultural formats. By translating scientific observation into visual and exhibition-based forms, it provides methods that can be adapted by cultural institutions, research centres and environmental organisations in other contexts.
