Ap Verheggen

Two sculptures created by a Dutch artist have been erected on a moving iceberg off the coast of Greenland in an effort to raise awareness about global warming.

Ap Verheggen, whose project was supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), says he feels it's his mission as an artist to "make people aware of what's happening over here."

Each curvy, five-metre long sculpture depicts the outline of an Inuit directing a dog sled team with a long whip. Verheggen says he was inspired by the local culture of Uummannaq, an Inuit village on an island just northwest of Greenland, near where the sculptures were installed.

Uummannaq is famous for its dog sledding, but now, with the shorter winters and less freezing of the waters, the local Inuit are unable to enjoy this and other traditional pursuits, including fishing and hunting.

"Climate change equals culture change," the 45-year-old artist told the NECN network

Locals also contributed to Verheggen's piece by painting the flags that have been attached to the sculptures.

Monitors have been placed on the pieces that will feed footage to a website where people across the world follow the trajectory of the icebergs as they float southward. WWF says it will salvage the sculptures once the icebergs melt.

"We see the amount of sea ice is diminishing very fast," said WWF's Gert Polet. "A lot of ecosystems and a lot of animals depend on the sea ice for their survival.

Eight other sculptures are being planned for the Arctic over the next five years, with some made of biodegradable materials.

Stay tuned to us here at SculptSite.com for the progress of this vitally interesting project.
Kudos to sculptor Ap Verheggen!