Here’s a piece of advice from my inner daydreamer: befriend an ice sculptor (who is relatively rare!) and you might just receive one of the most surreal, breathtaking gifts imaginable.

Ice Sculpting is a distinctive art form that involves shaping and carving ice blocks into stunning works of art, a testament to the creative skills of the artisans. The expertise of this art not only requires artistic vision but also scientific knowledge about how ice behaves. Ice has unique and radically different properties based on environmental conditions and the type of water used, unlike other materials such as ceramics. This makes ice sculpting a complex and an intriguing craft to master.

History of Ice Sculpting

The origins of ice sculpting are somewhat obscure but evidence does suggest that it has had a long history and has been here for a long time. As per Historians, Inuits (indigenous people of the Arctic region i.e. Canada, Greenland and Alaska) began to build their snow shelters – commonly referred to as igloos – some 4000 years ago. The benefits and uses of ice gradually gained popularity.

The first known decorative use of ice is said to have taken place in China. The fishermen of the 17th century in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang used ice to create lanterns – froze water inside a bucket, removed the bucket, hollowed the ice and inserted candles. These lanterns can still be seen at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, which dates back to the year 1897.

Here’s one fascinating fact from history:

Russian Empress Anna Ivanova had an ice palace built from the ice of River Neva in the year 1740 and forced her jester to marry within it. The palace was fully furnished with ice furniture, ice pillows, an ice bed, an ice canopy, and even featured an elephant ice sculpture and ice cannons (which did fire ice balls!) Though it may sound majestic, it was essentially a cruel joke and a power play. A Russian prince had married a Catholic Italian woman whom Anna disapproved of, and who died soon after the marriage. Consequently, Anna made the widowed noble prince a jester in retaliation for marrying the deceased Catholic woman. She then compelled him to marry an old maid in the ice palace and made them spend the night there. Her intention was likely for them to freeze to death, but they both managed to survive.

Interestingly, the famous chef Auguste Escoffier in the year 1892 sculpted a swan to serve his newly invented dish called the Peach Melba. This dish basically included raspberry sauce and peaches served alongside an ice cream. It was exclusively crafted for Nellie Melba and was first introduced at a celebratory event hosted by the Duke of Orleans to honor her. The swan sculpture was influenced by the opera Melba was featuring in at that time.

Today, these ice sculptures are popular as centerpieces of weddings and parties and have been included in multiple art events across the globe, even the Olympics as a Cultural Olympiad event.

The Science of Ice Sculpting

The obvious question that came to me, and might have come to many of you is – what makes the ice so tricky to work with? The answer lies in its chemistry.

Ice is unique!
While most liquids get dense as they cool, ice behaves differently. It is actually less dense than water, which is also why it floats. Water basically starts forming a crystalline structure owing to hydrogen bonding when the temperature drops below 4 degrees Celsius. This structure creates spaces between the molecules, causing the ice to expand and become less dense.

For ice sculptors, understanding this is the key. Carve too soon and the ice can crack due to thermal shock – when the outer surface warms up and expands while the colder interior remains contracted, creating a stress within the ice block. So usually, sculptors need to let an ice block rest for a few hours to adjust to the surrounding temperature.

Sculpting also warms up the ice, turning the process into a careful balancing act between temperature and time.

Some iconic Ice Sculptures and Installations

Monumento Minimo Project

It was a project, which means ‘Minimum Monument’, was launched in the year 2001 by Brazilian artist Nele Azevado. It was a public art project that used hundreds of 20-cm tall ice sculptures of men and women, to emphasize global warming as well as tragedies of world history.

Ice Watch

Two Danish artists Olafur Eliasson and Minik Rosing brought around 30 blocks of glacial ice that melted off the Greenland ice sheet to major cities like Berlin, London and Paris to visually showcase the impact of climate change. The installation happened twice – once in October 2014 and another in December 2015.

Here’s a ‘cool’ fact:

In Lainio, a village of Kittilä in Finland, a snow village and a hotel is rebuilt every year when winter arrives. In 2017, they constructed a charming Game of Thrones-themed hotel.

Conclusively,

The tedious art of ice sculpting is heavy on the skills but easy on the eyes. From having seen it on the sets of Game of Thrones, not many have ever consciously noticed the beauty of it except the festivals that celebrate the art form. It’s disheartening how so many exquisite details go unnoticed when it deserves so much appreciation and accolades. It’s time we recognize and nurture this art form and the beauty of it.

To learn more about Indian art and artists, download the Rooftop app from the App Store or Google Play to stay updated on our upcoming art events and workshops. Stay tuned to rooftop blogs and follow us on @rooftop_app.

By Vidhi Ojha