Ice melts into Sydney Harbour in THAW

Ice melts into Sydney Harbour in THAW by Legs on the Wall (2022)

Sometimes, it takes an obvious metaphor to cut through. Seemingly trapped on a 2.7 tonne block of slowly melting ice hoisted 20 metres above the Harbour from the foot of Sydney Opera House, a solitary performer forced us to ponder the future of our own fragile planet.

Crested by Sydney’s Legs on the Wall, set to a score by Alaskan composer Matthew Burtner and supported by some remarkable achievements in design and engineering, THAW lifted humankind’s impact on the planet into sharp relief against the blazing blue sky. Mesmerising passersby and live-streamed globally, it left a single, unsettling question hanging: how long can we last?