Ice Civilization to Disappearance: Traces of Vanishing and the Material Archive by Marknsol

 This paper interprets ice not as a simple metaphor for disappearance but as a protocol for reimagining civilization through the process of vanishing. Frozen pigments and daily materials—such as ketchup, coffee, and cola—embody the ethics of melting, revealing traces that are not preserved but transformed into new relationships. As the ice melts, these substances produce echoes of time, forming an archive that resists permanence. The “Ice Civilization” proposed here rejects monumental preservation and embraces impermanence, slowness, and sensory recovery. Drawing from Berardi’s idea of the crisis of sensation, Morton’s concept of the hyperobject, and the Daoist philosophy of balance between presence and absence, the study argues that art today should not aim to endure but to dissolve meaningfully. In this sense, disappearance becomes not an end but a method—a way to sense, relate, and remember differently.

Ice Civilization to Disappearance: Traces of Vanishing and the Material Archive by Marknsol (Kwangmok Son) 2025

얼음-문명에서 소멸로: 사라짐의 흔적과 물질적 아카이브

이 논문은 얼음을 단순한 소멸의 은유가 아니라, 사라짐의 과정을 통해 문명을 다시 상상하는 하나의 프로토콜로 해석한다. 케첩, 커피, 콜라 등 일상적 재료가 얼음 속에서 녹아내리며 남기는 흔적은 보존되지 않고, 관계와 감각으로 변환된다. ‘얼음-문명’은 영속성을 거부하고, 느림과 소멸 속에서 감각을 회복하는 문명이다. Berardi의 ‘감각의 위기’, Morton의 ‘하이퍼오브젝트’, 『도덕경』의 존재와 부재의 사유를 바탕으로, 본 연구는 예술이 남기는 것이 아니라 사라지며 울리는 새로운 윤리를 제안한다.

Ice Civilization to Disappearance: Traces of Vanishing and the Material Archive by Marknsol (Kwangmok Son) 2025