Touching North, 1989
Andy Goldsworthy (b. 1956)
Snow and ice; photographic reproduction, dimensions variable
© Andy Goldsworthy, courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

The conservation of contemporary works of art often raises important questions, as their work-defining properties may reside not solely in their material presence but also in their conceptual, documentary, and choreographic aspects. In 1989 Andy Goldsworthy created Touching North, a series of ring-shaped snow sculptures at the North Pole, after learning snow cutting and packing methods from an Inuit individual from Ellesmere Island in the Arctic archipelago. The form and materials of these sculptures symbolize the cyclical nature of creation, change, and decay. Like many of his ephemeral works, intended to vanish with time, Goldsworthy preserved Touching North in photographs such as the example reproduced here, not simply as a record of the work but as a part of the work itself.