Lucerne art installation highlights coral bleaching
Coral bleaching is caused by global warming. It threatens ecosystems and livelihoods.
Keystone / Ove Hoegh-guldberg
A group of Swiss artists have placed some 480 white porcelain corals in a national monument in Lucerne to draw attention to coral bleaching caused by global warming.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/jc
Português
pt
Instalação de arte em Lucerna alerta para o fim dos corais
“Corals cast out of porcelain decorate the water bottom at the Lion Monument. At night, thanks to a fluorescent glaze, they glow, illustrating nature’s call for help,” they sayExternal link.
The installation, inaugurated on Friday, is called “Whitening Out” and can be seen until September 20.
More than a hundred people have shaped, baked and glazed the clay corals. The water had to be emptied and then refilled to prepare the project.
Coral is our underwater forest, providing food and oxygen for the water and the ecosystem around the reef. Coral lives in symbiosis with algae, which feed it and give it colour. As the planet warms, the algae are leaving the coral, which loses its colour and starves to death.
The Lion Monument in Lucerne is a rock relief commemorating Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. It is one of the most famous monuments in Switzerland and was placed under national monument protection in 2006. It draws its name from a sculpture of a mortally wounded lion.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
Ups and downs: Swiss drivers benefit from world’s only mobile bridge
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Swiss carry out record number of civilian service days
This content was published on
Members of the civilian service completed a record 1.9 million days of service in 2024, a 3.5% increase on the previous year.
Initiative aims to curb lobbying in Swiss parliament
This content was published on
A new popular initiative wants to put the brakes on lobbying in federal politics. Members of the Federal Assembly with vested interests are the target.
Soda lakes: Swiss researchers discover clues to origin of life
This content was published on
Life on Earth could have originated four billion years ago in large soda lakes, according to researchers at the Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich.
This content was published on
Geneva Airport recorded a clear increase in both revenue and, in particular, profit in 2024. The airport has now almost fully recovered from the Covid slump.
This content was published on
At around 11:20am on Saturday the moon will begin to move in front of the sun in Switzerland. However, it will not completely cover it.
SlowUp cycle ride celebrates quarter-century in Switzerland
This content was published on
Twenty-five years ago slowUp was launched as a pilot project for Expo.02 on the shores of Lake Morat in western Switzerland.
This content was published on
A Swiss court has confirmed the acquittals of former FIFA president Joseph Blatter and former UEFA president Michel Platini at first instance.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Science and diplomacy hope to save Red Sea coral
This content was published on
Scientists have discovered that corals in the Red Sea are more resistant to climate change. Now Switzerland is leading a project to help save them.
Red Sea coral spotlights Swiss ‘Science Diplomacy’
This content was published on
Switzerland is working to bring countries around the Red Sea together to study heat-resistant corals found in its waters.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.