The warming climate is causing many changes in our environment and ecosystems which affect biodiversity. Some of these changes and effects are happening quite fast and are already very visible and get fair amount of attention. However, there are others, that take much longer to manifest and often elude our attention. Mountain ecosystems present an interesting contradiction: the climate is warming at a higher pace than the global average, yet the vegetation response is slower than might be expected. Nevertheless, plants – often thought of as unmoving – are shifting their habitat ranges in order to follow the conditions they are adapted to.
Up, Up, Up is a research-based art project by Uriel Orlow based in the Engadine and the Swiss National Park that aims to connect this unique local context to global questions around climate change by focusing on the forced climb of plants due to rising temperatures. The slow change of the summit flora is literally outside the frame. So how can we bring it into the frame? How can we make it visible differently?