29 May 2023

Preview of Vanja Bucan's artwork on the facade of the Ringturm in Vienna: 'Wandering Icebergs' depicts bathers on a beach with icebergs symbolizing the effects of climate change

The annually changing artwork commissioned by Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein on the facade of the Ringturm, a skyscraper located on the Ringstrasse - a street that surrounds Vienna's inner city like a ring - is a highlight of art with a message in public space. The Ringturm Wrapping project was launched in 2006. The list of artists from Central and Eastern Europe includes names such as Xenia Hausner (Austria), Daniela Kostova (Bulgaria), Dóra Maurer (Hungary) or Tanja Deman (Croatia). This year, Slovenian artist Vanja Bucan's work 'Wandering Icebergs', which depicts bathers on a sandy beach and icebergs growing out of the atmosphere, will raise awareness of the impact of climate change on nature and humanity. The renowned photographer Vanja Bucan (b. 1973) combines social science and staged photography, artistically reworked to explore the relationship between humans and nature.

In a statement on wst-versicherungsverein.at/en/projects/ringturm-wrapping-2023/, Vanja Bucan said that she wanted her painting to highlight nature's inherent potential for change. Like the people in her picture, all of them were only tiny fragments of a larger context. Wandering icebergs had become a symbol of climate change. For her, they also represented just how unpredictable events could be – at that particular moment on the beach, it was not entirely clear how the day would turn out for the bathers. On her Instagram, the photographer offers a glimpse into the creation of the rephotographed analog collage. The photo of bathers was taken in Victoria, Australia, in 2016 and later transformed. The icebergs appear to be cut out of the clouds.

Image: Rendering of the artwork 'Wandering Icebergs' by Vanja Bucan for the Ringturm Wrapping 2023. Work on the facade of the Ringturm in Vienna is in progress. The completion of the 4,000 square meter wrapping is scheduled for mid-June. The artwork, commissioned by the Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, the main shareholder of the multinational Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), will be on display until the end of summer. Photo (rendering): © Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein/Hertha Hurnaus.