Navigating residencies: The making of Glacier Trilogy with Theresa Schubert

In this interview Theresa Schubert a Berlin-based artist discusses her “Glacier trilogy”, a three-piece work that explores the transformation of glaciers in the face of climate change. The Glacier trilogy, which is the outcome from S+T+ARTS 4 WATER artist residency. The interview explores the creative processes behind the making of the trilogy, including working with generative AI and with a glassblower.

Listen to this podcast to learn about

• Insights into using art to comment on and bring awareness to global environmental issues like climate change through thematic focus and material choice.
• The importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration, working with experts from different fields to enrich art projects, enhance their execution, and broaden their impact.
• The creative application of generative AI.
• The value of artist residencies in providing unique opportunities for research exploration, and collaboration.  
• Practical advice on making the most out of residency programs.

 

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Highlights

• (0:01:41) Theresa describes the Glacier trilogy as a three-piece work that explores glaciers and their transformation in the current climate crisis.

• (0:02:42) Theresa explains the first part of the trilogy, which includes a sound composition and a projection of synthetic glacier formation videos.
• (0:04:17) Theresa discusses the second part of the trilogy, which features glass vessels containing ice core melt water from glaciers, emphasising the fragility of the environment.
• (0:05:57) Theresa talks about the third part of the trilogy, a video sculpture that simulates glacial fluid systems and includes CO2 sensors that affect the simulation based on the presence of people in the exhibition space.
• (0:08:20) Theresa explains the importance of the topic of climate change and the role of art in bringing it to a wider audience through experiential and reflective approaches.
• (0:10:19) Theresa discusses her intention to create a direct engagement with the audience through the use of real water in the glass sculptures. 
• (0:13:10) Theresa explains that she didn’t have specific ideas initially but was inspired by various inputs during the residency, including visiting an archive and translating the diaries of an Italian glaciologist.
• (0:16:20) Theresa discusses the difference between working with simulations of natural phenomena and using generative AI models for visual or text-based outputs.
• (0:18:03) The excitement of AI’s unpredictability and variation.
• (0:20:25) Collaborations in each piece brought different processes and experiences.
• (0:21:06) Working with a glass blower for the first time.
• (0:22:48 Researching and collaborating with scientists and experts.
• (0:23:41) Contrasting physical work with materials and computer coding.
• (0:24:54) Differences in physicality and bodily experiences between glass blowing and computer work.
• (0:28:46) Establishing lasting connections and relationships after the residency.
• (0:30:02) Advice for artists doing residencies: come with curiosity, network, and find something unique to the location.

About Theresa Schubert

Theresa Schubert, operating at the confluence of alchemy and science fiction, is a visionary Berlin-based artist, researcher, and curator whose work interrogates anthropocentrism while fostering alternative visions and sensory experiences. With a PhD from Bauhaus-University Weimar, her work spans installations and performances that incorporate living organisms and AI, questioning the nature-culture divide in our digital age. Schubert's projects, recognized globally with awards from prestigious entities like the Japan Media Arts Festival and Prix Ars Electronica, engage deeply with environmental and ethical themes. As a curator and educator, she extends her inquiry into the unconventional, advocating for a harmonious intertwining of technology, art, and the natural world. 

Takeaways from this interview with Theresa Schubert  

Description and impact

"The Glacier Trilogy investigates glaciers in the climate crisis, using AI generated video, glass sculptures, and a video sculpture to offer an immersive look at environmental fragility."

Art amplifying climate conversation

"Art...is giving a different access to [climate change] topics than...a newspaper article or a science paper."

Theresa asserts that art has a unique ability to engage broader audiences in climate change discussions, making complex issues more accessible and emotionally resonant.

Unpredictability when working with generative AI

"With generative AI...there’s this moment of surprise, you don’t know exactly what the machine will output.”   

Cross-disciplinary collaboration's value

"Collaborations...played a significant role in creating the Trilogy, involving a glass blower, a programmer, and glaciologists."

Theresa’s  work exemplifies how collaborating across fields can enhance the depth and impact of art, especially when addressing complex themes like climate change.

Advice on artist residencies

"Come with curiosity and an open mind...to find what’s special about the location."

Links from the podcast  

• Learning more Glacier Trilogy – Part 1: a synthetic archive, Glacier Trilogy – Part 2: earth memory, Glacier Trilogy – Part 3: Simulating glacial water systems 
• Learn more about  S+T+ARTS 
• Visit Theresa Schubert’s website
• Follow Theresa Schubert on Instagram

Transcripts of this interview with Theresa Schubert

How artists use generative AI in installation art

Robin Petterd: What is The Glacier Trilogy?

Theresa Schubert: The Glacier Trilogy is a three-part work that explores glaciers and how they’re transforming in this era of climate crisis. It also focuses on the origins of fluvial systems and how they begin forming in mountain regions. I developed the work during a residency at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, a renowned art and research centre in Northern Italy.

So that’s how the piece began.

Robin Petterd: So, it’s three separate pieces—how do they work together, or do they stand alone?

Theresa Schubert: The best way to imagine it is as a darkened exhibition space where all three pieces create an immersive, multifaceted experience. Each one uses different media, materials, and technologies, but together they form a unified whole.

When you first enter the space, you hear a sound composition—it’s like a bit of an opera, with a singing voice that sometimes multiplies into a choir. The piece also includes synthetic sounds and field recordings arranged into a soundscape. This sound accompanies the first part of the trilogy: an AI-generated video projection. It’s primarily black-and-white or sepia-toned and depicts synthetic glacier formations.

To create the video, I trained a neural network on archival glacier photographs from the region. So what you see is a kind of machine-imagined landscape, built from historical photographic data.

At the same time, there are sculptural elements—glass vessels hanging from the ceiling that contain ice core meltwater. Scientists collect this water through deep ice core drilling, either in alpine regions or the Arctic, to study climate data from past centuries.

I visited a laboratory in Milan that works with these cores and received some samples, which I encapsulated in the glass sculptures. These hang at or slightly above eye level so that people can walk among them, look through the glass and the water, and engage directly with this part of the piece.

The third component is a large video sculpture made of two stacked panoramic screens. It shows a simulation of glacial fluid systems over a 3D map of alpine terrain. The visuals are more abstract and fluid—particles echo and evolve over time.

This piece also includes CO₂ sensors installed in the exhibition space. The more people present, the more CO₂ accumulates, and this in turn changes certain aesthetic features in the simulation in real time.

Together, the three works aim to foster contemplation and reflection on glaciers, environmental fragility, and the broader transformations happening due to climate change.

Media art addressing climate change

Robin Petterd: A lot of your work connects humans and nature. This project feels like a more explicit engagement with climate change. Why take that direction?

Theresa Schubert: Climate change is a pressing and urgent issue, one that will shape the future for generations to come. I believe art can bring this topic to a broader audience—beyond the scientific community—by offering experiences that are more reflective and visceral than reading a news article or research paper.

There was also a pragmatic aspect—the residency I applied for was focused on climate change. So that context shaped the work as well.

Robin Petterd: So the residency helped shape the direction of the work toward a more direct engagement with climate change?

Theresa Schubert: Exactly.

Robin Petterd: Your practice often moves between media art, nature, and bioart. In this trilogy, only the glass sculpture has a traditional material element. Why include that?

Theresa Schubert: I wanted one component to include a real, physical material—water. The other parts are digital and more ephemeral, while this one brings a direct material connection. The water is transparent, almost invisible, which invites imagination. It’s ancient—10,000 years old. It may contain dust particles from the atmosphere or even remnants of small organisms. So, it becomes an entry point into imagination and time.

Robin Petterd: That part felt very evocative. The documentation made it look mysterious and magical.

Theresa Schubert: It’s also like a memorial—to the glaciers and the era we’re losing. Most glaciers in the Alps likely won’t survive the next hundred years. It’s sad, but I wanted to give them some kind of presence.

Artist residency outcomes and processes

Robin Petterd: Did you have specific ideas for these three pieces when the residency began?

Theresa Schubert: No. I applied with a conceptual approach, but not with a defined project. The residency hosts at Fondazione Pistoletto were excellent—they connected me with a wide range of experts: university researchers, glaciologists, rice farmers, and staff at meteorological observatories.

There was so much inspiration. I couldn’t decide on just one direction, so I created three works using different approaches and technologies.

What sparked the glacier theme was a visit to the Glaciological Committee archive at the University of Turin. They’ve collected photos, maps, tools, and books about glaciers since the mid-19th century. Among them were the handwritten diaries of Italian glaciologist Ardito Desio, filled with pencil sketches and notes from his expeditions in the 1920s.

The handwriting was hard to read, but I collaborated with a translation expert to transcribe and translate the diaries. I then used the translated texts to generate AI imagery—landscapes based on Desio’s descriptions. This led me to explore different forms of translation: from handwriting to digital text, from one language to another, and then into AI-generated visuals and eventually, an installation.

Interactive art using environmental data

Robin Petterd: You’ve worked with generative AI before. How do you compare that process to other generative or simulation-based work?

Theresa Schubert: When using generative AI, the dataset you train the model on heavily influences the outcome. A larger dataset gives more variation, but there’s always an element of surprise—you don’t know exactly what the machine will produce. That unpredictability is part of the appeal.

In contrast, simulations are more structured from the outset. I typically define the parameters early on and then collaborate with a programmer to bring it to life. It’s more like building a controlled system than releasing one into the wild.

Robin Petterd: So simulation is more pre-planned, while AI offers more chance?

Theresa Schubert: Yes, and that surprise is part of the fascination with AI. Though I’d say my simulations are generative too—they often incorporate real-time inputs like sensors or user interactions, so there’s still variability.

Collaboration between artists and scientists

Robin Petterd: Each of the trilogy’s pieces involved collaboration. How did that shape the work?

Theresa Schubert: Collaborating on the glass sculptures was a completely new experience for me. I’m not a traditional sculptor, so working with glass was unfamiliar. I created plaster models of mountain terrain—about 40 by 40 centimetres—and the glassblower used these to shape the hot glass. The finished pieces retained imprints of the landscape.

I worked with a glassblower from Turin. He led the process—glassblowing is physically demanding and hard to learn quickly. What fascinated me was the contrast: shaping glaciers using fire. Glass is visually similar to ice, so the material was a perfect fit.

I also enjoyed working with my hands—very different from my usual digital practice.

For the simulation, I collaborated with a programmer, as I’ve done in many past works. That’s more about dialogue, sketching ideas, and translating them into code—a very different collaboration from working with a glassblower.

Robin Petterd: It’s quite a contrast—manual, hot, heavy work versus digital creation.

Theresa Schubert: Completely different bodily experiences. With glass, you’re sweating, lifting heavy tools, using ovens. With computers, it’s more about posture and strain—it’s not physical in the same way.

Robin Petterd: Was the glassblowing closer to your past work with living organisms?

Theresa Schubert: Yes, there’s a similarity. Working with living organisms requires care—you’re feeding them, cleaning, monitoring. There’s always a risk of contamination or failure. If a culture dies, you have to start from scratch.

With code, if something fails, you tweak it and try again. But when working with living systems, it’s less predictable, and the timelines are slower—you can’t rush growth.

And there’s an ethical component too. You’re dealing with life, so you need to reflect on that responsibility.

Robin Petterd: Some residencies reshape artists’ practices. Did this one do that for you?

Theresa Schubert: It didn’t radically change my practice, but I did work with new materials. One of the best outcomes was forming an ongoing relationship with the Glaciological Committee and Professor Marco from Turin. We went on a glacier field trip with scientists and environmentalists, and we still keep in touch. That kind of connection doesn’t always happen after a residency.

Robin Petterd: Residencies can be short-lived, but you’ve built a lasting relationship. Final question—what’s your best advice for other artists doing residencies?

Theresa Schubert: Come with curiosity and an open mind. Try to get as much from the location as possible in the limited time. Look for something unique to that place—otherwise, you could do the work anywhere. And network—build connections that can outlast the residency. That’s what makes it sustainable, in terms of relationships and learning.