Where it Used to be Blue
Rowe Moser

Artist Statement:    Where It Used To Be Blue - This work is the result of a series of expeditions made in 2019 aboard a research vessel where I witnessed the beautiful blue glaciers of the Arctic turning into rubble and soot. Where it used to be blue is now covered in dirt and rocks, composing moraines that range in size from powdery silt to large rocks and boulders. A receding glacier can leave behind moraines that are visible long after a glacier is gone.

As the glaciers recede, remote Arctic islands are being polluted with plastic, most of which originate from the fishing industry. I found that the shorelines of the Svalbard archipelago and of Jan Mayen island were littered with more plastic waste in comparison to North American, or European beaches, despite the tiny local populations. Currents, streams, waves, and wind carry marine litter across the oceans northwards on the Gulf Stream.

Plastic debris is found on Arctic beaches, in sea ice, sediments, and even in the bodies of Arctic birds, mammals, and fish. This is an exploration into a global dilemma. Where It Used To Be Blue offers a vision of polar landscapes, inviting a consideration of their mythos, delicate ecology, and fraught geopolitical condition in a world where human civilization and the natural landscape are intrinsically linked.

LexArts has provided funding support for Where It Used To Be Blue through its Fund for the Arts.
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Bio:  Rachel “Rowe” Moser is an artist and designer whose work includes paintings, video, installation, and sound. Moser graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle with a BFA in Motion and Graphic Design, and a MFA in Studio Art from the University of Kentucky. Influences and inspiration come from Moser's many years being immersed in movement practice and performing as a ballet dancer. Her work is an ongoing study of climate change and humans impact on the planet. She strives to make her work available to all audiences in an effort to share her experience and knowledge on how global warming is impacting our planet. She uses both facts and images to make the invisible visible and visceral. Moser is currently an artist and Professor of Digital Art at Eastern Kentucky University.