Ice Hotel Sweden, Sculpture commission 'Ice Clock' with Raku Pitt 2006
In 2006 myself and fellow artist Raku Pitt submitted a design for a hotel suite at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, a small town above the arctic circle in Sweden. Our design was selected, and we were flown over to build the interior of a giant clock with chainsaws, incredibly sharp Japanese carving blades, hot water and other implements. When we arrived it was mid-winter - the sun never rose above the horizon, and the temperature got down to - 40 degrees celsius. We stayed in an caravan, and every night the Northern lights mesmerised us with their snaking, pulsating forms in the sky. Construction began with a couple of 6 tonne blocks of ice and then some smaller pieces, which we carted around on sleds, and then carved, chopped, sliced and melted into shape. The shell of the snow room had been built earlier using a series of molds and formwork. Ice is the most beautiful material to carve, it has no grain and with the right tool feels like butter. Inside a block you will often find hairline cracks which can cause an entire block to shatter if you hit them the wrong way, especially if the outside air temp is particularly low.The lighting in the finished piece is a powerful rope LED used in underwater oil exploration off the coast of Norway. When we both caught colds, the cure was to cook ourselves in a sauna, then dive into the snow outside. It worked.
'shed dreaming' ink on paper, 2011
'Taking words' pencil on paper, published in 'Tango : Love and Sedition' 2007
illustration for 'The Squirrel and the Great Tree' , pencil and ink on board, 2004
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