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An ice sculpture of the word “Democracy” was spotted melting in the middle of Washington DC as Americans despair at the state of their country’s governance.
Ahead of this weekend’s “No Kings” protest against Donald Trump and his administration on Saturday (18 October), a giant ice sculpture was unveiled on the National Mall on Wednesday.
The installation, titled “Last Call – DemocracyICED”, was the work of New York City artists Marshall Reese and Nora Ligorano, who have been behind similar installations in the past, and was commissioned by the Up In Arms campaign.
The entire sculpture was 17-by-5-foot in size, weighed 3,000 pounds (1360 kg) and was placed in view of the Capitol building. An almost 8-hour long time-lapse video captured it as it melted away to nothing.
“It’s hard being an American to think that we need pro-democracy advocacy actions and groups, but that’s what we do,” Reese explained.
The organisers said the artwork was a visual representation symbolising “America’s weakened democracy and the costs of its failure amid growing militarism and authoritarianism” under Trump’s administration.
“Democracy to D(e)cay,” someone wrote in response to images shared online.
Another wrote: “Democracy fading into decay is ridiculously poignant.”
“Democracy functions when people participate in it. Participate in elections or participate in working and communicating with their elected officials,” Reese added . “We’d like to see more of that happen.”
“It’s an homage to what is and what once was,” said Nora Ligorano.
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