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INFERNO – Athabasca

Athabasca Melt
© 2025 Leslie Hossack

The photograph “Athabasca Melt” was taken on the Athabasca Glacier during a trip to the Columbia Icefields in June 2025. The experience of actually standing on this rapidly disappearing glacier inspired a new sculpture “Athabasca,” part of my Earth, Air, Fire and Water Collection. It will be featured in INFERNO, a solo exhibition at de Montigny Contemporary, opening 2 September 2025.

The audio recording “Athabasca Fade” (©2025 Leslie Hossack) was created to accompany the exhibition INFERNO. This recording was specifically designed to complement the modular sculpture “Athabasca.” The musical work is composed of three parts. The sound of running water, recorded by the artist at the Athabasca Glacier in June 2025, is a stream of melt water pouring off the glacier. The ticking sound is a recording of a 1947 Big Ben alarm clock from the artist’s personal collection. The two are combined with a third track, a low disquieting droning sound. It is predicted that this majestic glacier will completely disappear by the end of the century. 

Created by Leslie Hossack.
Produced by Burrow Media.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Keys of Condolence

Keys of Condolence (left panel of triptych)
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

 

“Keys of Condolence” is a work from Leslie Hossack’s Smoke Collection, part of her ongoing series INFERNO.

In 2024, the worst wildfire in the history of Jasper National Park destroyed about 33,000 hectares of wilderness and approximately one third of the structures in the town of Jasper. This triptych was created in response to the tragedy. It consists of a total of 408 keys and tags (136 per panel). Each tag has a handwritten label noting the address of a Jasper building initially listed as destroyed by the fire.


KEYS OF CONDOLENCE (left panel).
Brass, steel, paper, archival ink, acrylic.
46 x 39 in.
Custom white lacquer wood frame.
2024.
Edition of 1.

 
To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit
lesliehossack.ca
deMontignyContemporary.com

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Behind Bold Colours

BEHIND BOLD COLOURS
© 2025 Leslie Hossack

“Behind Bold Colours” is a work from Leslie Hossack’s Smoke Collection, part of her ongoing series INFERNO.

Air quality is impacted by PM2.5 particles which are a consequence of wildfires and fossil fuel burning. These are the smallest particles, and they are one of the most dangerous pollutants in the air. The World Health Organization uses seven colours to communicate the air quality risk associated with concentrations of PM2.5.

BLUE (meets World Health Organization PM2.5 guideline).
GREEN (exceeds guideline by 1 to 2 times).
YELLOW (exceeds guideline by 2 to 3 times).
ORANGE (exceeds guideline by 3 to 5 times).
RED (exceeds guideline by 5 to 7 times).
PURPLE (exceeds guideline by 7 to 10 times).
MAROON (exceeds guideline by over 10 times).

Behind bold colours, dark cataclysms lurk.
 

UV pigment ink on acrylic.
21.5 x 21.5 in. framed.
Solid wood custom frame.
2025.
Edition of 3.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit
lesliehossack.ca
deMontignyContemporary.com

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Doomsday

These clocks were inspired by The Doomsday Clock which first appeared in June 1947 on the cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 1945, a group of Chicago scientists, who helped build the first atomic bomb, founded the journal to inform people about the “horrible effects of nuclear weapons and the consequences of using them.” In 2007, the Bulletin added the effects of climate change to its calculation of how close humanity is to midnight. The image titles indicate the years in which the Doomsday Clock was set to the time noted. The colours of the 12 clocks were inspired by covers of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists over the past 78 years.

17 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1991)

14 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1995)

12 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1963, 1972)

10 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1969, 1990)

9 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1974, 1998)

7 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1947, 1960, 1968, 1980, 2002)

6 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1988, 2010)

5 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (2007, 2012)

4 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1981)

3 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1949, 1984, 2025)

2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. (1953, 2017, 2018)

LESS THAN 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. 2020, 2023, 2025)

UV pigment ink on clear acrylic and white acrylic.
21.5 x 21.5 in. framed.
Solid wood custom frame.
© 2025 Leslie Hossack.
Edition of 3.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit
lesliehossack.ca
deMontignyContemporary.com

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

Featured

INFERNO – Peyto Glacier

Peyto Glacier
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

“Peyto Glacier” was released to mark the UN International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025. This three-dimensional piece is from Leslie Hossack’s Earth, Air, Fire and Water Collection, part of her latest series INFERNO.

Consisting of both sculptures and two-dimensional works, INFERNO exposes objectively measurable aspects of climate change such as disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, melting polar ice, soaring temperatures and unprecedented wildfires. These abstract works are accurate representations of scientific records.

“Each one of my constructions is inspired by recent events and informed by current research. INFERNO is data driven. Statistics, graphs and other visual representations of our world have always fascinated me. In the summer of 2023, as hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed cities across the nation and around the world, I felt compelled to respond through my art. When art and science work together, better solutions will be found sooner. I hope this collection Earth, Air, Fire and Water will cause us to carefully consider the catastrophic calamities related to climate change.”

“Peyto Glacier” is composed of 27 separate pieces, each of a different height. They represent the cumulative mass balance of this Canadian reference glacier for the years 1996 through 2022 (relative to 1995).

Acrylic Sculpture
11 3/4  x  18 1/2  x  4”

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

Featured

INFERNO – Mountain Glacier

Mountain Glacier
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

“Mountain Glacier” was released just in time to mark the UN International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025. This three-dimensional piece is from Leslie Hossack’s Earth, Air, Fire and Water Collection, part of her latest series INFERNO.

Consisting of both sculptures and two-dimensional works, INFERNO exposes objectively measurable aspects of climate change such as disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, melting polar ice, soaring temperatures and unprecedented wildfires. These abstract works are accurate representations of scientific records.

“Each one of my constructions is inspired by recent events and informed by current research. INFERNO is data driven. Statistics, graphs and other visual representations of our world have always fascinated me. In the summer of 2023, as hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed cities across the nation and around the world, I felt compelled to respond through my art. When art and science work together, better solutions will be found sooner. I hope this collection Earth, Air, Fire and Water will cause us to carefully consider the catastrophic calamities related to climate change.”

“Mountain Glacier” is composed of 30 separate pieces, each of a different height. These represent the annual retreat of world glaciers (glacier mass balance) from 1994 to 2023.

Acrylic Sculpture
12 ¼ x 12 x 5”

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Sea Level

04 Sea Level (Front View) Documentation Photo by Leslie Hossack 6 OK

Sea Level
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

“Sea Level” is a three-dimensional piece from Leslie Hossack’s Earth, Air, Fire and Water Collection, part of her new series INFERNO.

Consisting of both sculptures and two-dimensional works, INFERNO exposes objectively measurable aspects of climate change such as rising sea levels, disappearing glaciers, melting polar ice, hazardous air quality, unprecedented wildfires, and scorching temperatures. These abstract works are accurate representations of scientific records.

“Each one of my constructions is inspired by recent events and informed by current research. INFERNO is data driven. Statistics, graphs and other visual representations of our world have always fascinated me. In the summer of 2023, as hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed cities across the nation and around the world, I felt compelled to respond through my art. When art and science work together, better solutions will be found sooner. I hope this collection Earth, Air, Fire and Water will cause us to carefully consider the catastrophic calamities related to climate change.”

“Sea Level” is fabricated from 30 separate pieces, each of a different height. From front left to back right, these represent the global mean sea level for the years 1994 through 2023.

Acrylic Sculpture
11 ¼ x 11 x 3”

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Wildfire

08 Wildfire (Diagonal View) Documentation Photo by Leslie Hosack OK

Wildfire
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

“Wildfire” is a three-dimensional piece in Leslie Hossack’s Earth, Air, Fire and Water Collection, part of her new series INFERNO.

Consisting of both sculptures and two-dimensional works, INFERNO exposes objectively measurable aspects of climate change such as unprecedented wildfires, disappearing glaciers, melting polar ice, hazardous air quality, scorching temperatures and rising sea levels. These abstract works are accurate representations of scientific records.

“Each one of my constructions is inspired by recent events and informed by current research. INFERNO is data driven. Statistics, graphs and other visual representations of our world have always fascinated me. In the summer of 2023, as hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed cities across the nation and around the world, I felt compelled to respond through my art. When art and science work together, better solutions will be found sooner. I hope this collection Earth, Air, Fire and Water will cause us to carefully consider the catastrophic calamities related to climate change.”

“Wildfire” is fabricated from 25 separate pieces, each of a different height. These represent the area burned by wildfires in Canada during the worst 25 years of the last 40, as of 2023. The highest bar represents 2023, when wildfires burned more than double the area of any year since 1983.

Acrylic Sculpture
15 ¼ x 5 x 5 in.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Arctic Ice

01 Arctic Ice (Aerial View) Documentation Photo by Leslie Hossack OK

Arctic Ice
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

“Arctic Ice” is the first piece in Leslie Hossack’s Earth, Air, Fire and Water Collection, part of her new series INFERNO.

Consisting of both sculptures and two-dimensional works, INFERNO exposes objectively measurable aspects of climate change such as melting polar ice, disappearing glaciers, hazardous air quality, unprecedented wildfires, scorching temperatures and rising sea levels. These abstract works are accurate representations of scientific records.

“Each one of my constructions is inspired by recent events and informed by current research. INFERNO is data driven. Statistics, graphs and other visual representations of our world have always fascinated me. In the summer of 2023, as hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed cities across the nation and around the world, I felt compelled to respond through my art. When art and science work together, better solutions will be found sooner. I hope this collection Earth, Air, Fire and Water will cause us to carefully consider the catastrophic calamities related to climate change.”

“Arctic Ice” is fabricated from 35 separate pieces, each of a different height. From top left to bottom right, these represent the extent of multiyear ice in the Arctic for the years 1989 through 2023.

Acrylic Sculpture
13 ½ x 9 ½ x 1 ½ in.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

INFERNO – Code Red

“137 - Code RED” by Leslie Hossack OK

137: Code Red
© 2024 Leslie Hossack

“137: Code Red” is a piece from Leslie Hossack’s Smoke Collection, part of her new series INFERNO.

Consisting of prints and sculptures, INFERNO exposes objectively measurable aspects of climate change such as hazardous air quality, disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, unprecedented wildfires, melting polar ice  and scorching temperatures. These abstract works are accurate representations of scientific records.

Seen above, “137: Code Red” is a representation of a Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Reading of 137, recorded in downtown Ottawa at 10 AM on 6 June 2023. Air with PM2.5 concentrations from 55-150 is considered Unhealthy – Code Red.

“Each one of my constructions is inspired by recent events and informed by current research. INFERNO is data driven. Statistics, graphs and other visual representations of our world have always fascinated me. In the summer of 2023, as hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed cities across the nation and around the world, I felt compelled to respond through my art. When art and science work together, better solutions will be found sooner. I hope this collection of prints entitled Smoke will cause us to carefully consider the catastrophic calamities related to climate change.”

“137: Code Red”
UV ink on clear acrylic with white acrylic backing
custom white lacquer wood frame
46 x 46 x 2 in.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack