Architecture

30th Icehotel opens with weird and wonderful ice sculptures

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The 6th Feeling, by Ekaterina Barsukova and Vladimir Barsukov, is one of the stunning ice sculptures at this year's Icehotel
Asaf Kliger
A Night at the Theatre was created by Jonathan Paul Green and Marnie Green. "Behind you, the audience seating," reads the description. "Who will sit there? Well, that is for your imagination to decide. The occasion? The celebration of 30 years of ice adventures, so you are in for a wondrous and spectacular production"
Asaf Kliger
The Bone Room was created by Rob Harding. "Bone Room talks about the beauty that is found in the cycle of life," reads the description. " As the making of the suites at Icehotel begins, nature starts to play with the creations, showing off its own creative skills as it slowly eats its way back to the Torne River"
Asaf Kliger
Clear Water was created by AnnaSofia Mååg and Niklas Byman. "In front of the pride, the towering lion," reads the description. "A Biblical allusion, the male embodies the border between good and evil, while the drinking dectet alludes to a much-celebrated art piece"
Asaf Kliger
Echos of the Torne River was created by Francisco Javier Cortés Zamudio. "The sounds transformed into a piece of music and became the inception of a new ice creation," reads the description. "This vibrant and truly physical suite plays with both audible and visual impressions, bringing sound, shapes and lighting together"
Asaf Kliger
Feline Lair was created by Brian Alvin McArthur and Dawn Marie Detarando. "Lounge on jungle leaves while admiring your feline guardian cat who is waiting and ready to protect you through your dreams in this cozy lair," reads the description
Asaf Kliger
Golden Ice was created by Nicolas Triboulot and Jean-Marie Guitera. "Traveling without moving, you are invited to a journey through the golden light, into a different reality," reads the description. "The artists are the link, inventing new worlds and turning water into gold for an infinite instant, but remembered forever"
Asaf Kliger
Kaleidoscope was created by Natsuki Saito and Shingo Saito. "Saito and Saito knew the Torne River ice was ready for Edo-Kiriko - a traditional Japanese glass cutting technique - and so they started engraving the ice with the same, absolute precision and intricacy practiced for centuries," reads the description
Asaf Kliger
Ruossut was created by Anna Öhlund and John Pettersson. "Experiencing the Arctic is all about using your senses," reads the description. "Anna Öhlund and John Pettersson want to trigger them even further, making you aware of the unique sounds and impressions that occur during one year in the North"
Asaf Kliger
Spring Dream was created by Lei Zhao and Yong Zhao. "Winter or spring, this is an ode to life," reads the description. "Winter with its darkness is a revelation of the bright spring - the conception before spring is born"
Asaf Kliger
Subterranean was created by Daniel Rosenbaum and Jörgen Westin. "The Subterranean world is a place of primal power and self-discovery," reads the description. "Travel beneath the Earth’s crust and explore pathways oblivious to you, yet familiar terrain to many creatures sharing the Earth. You are now a visitor in their home, so make sure to tread gently, though with curiosity and courage"
Asaf Kliger
The 6th Feeling, by Ekaterina Barsukova and Vladimir Barsukov, is one of the stunning ice sculptures at this year's Icehotel
Asaf Kliger
The Day After was created by Marjolein Vonk and Maurizio Perrón. "The Day After is a tribute to all the crazy ideas that were born during late-night soirées at Icehotel, and an ode to the iconic people who made Icehotel the exhilarating and world-famous place it is today," reads the description
Asaf Kliger
Tip of the Iceberg was created by Franziska Agrawa. "Hovering in the room, an iceberg is displayed in its entirety, lucid and tangible," reads the description. A mythical phenomenon in its natural element, it is equally mesmerizing and menacing"
Asaf Kliger
White Santorini was created by Haemee Han and Jae Yual Lee. "White Santorini plays and elaborates with contrasting materials and proportions, whimsical and giddy, while still honoring its Greek original," reads the description
Asaf Kliger
This ice tower was created by Jens Thoms Ivarsson, Mats Nilsson and Petri Tuominen for the Icehotel's main hall
Icehotel
This year's Icebar is named Torneland and was created by Luc Voisin and Mathieu Brison
Icehotel
Ginko was designed by Nina Kauppi was Johan Kauppi. "To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Icehotel, this years’ Ceremony Hall, Ginkgo, is an ode to longevity," says the description. "Withstanding the test of time through millenniums, the ancient and resilient Ginkgo tree has become a symbol of hope, strength, and vitality while its heart-shaped leaves are associated with peace and eternal love"
Asaf Kliger
Warm Up was created by Aleksandra Pasek and Tomasz Czajkowski. "Through the fuzzy loop of something knitted and your head buried in a book, life seems much less distinct, almost muffled," reads the description. "Like your favorite sweater, soft and cozy, this cable knitted ice universe becomes a dear and comfortable haven. It urges you to rest your mind and allows you to indulge in your own presence"
Asaf Kliger
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Each year, the village of Jukkasjärvi in Swedish Lapland is host to the Icehotel. Now in its 30th iteration, the chilly retreat features amazing new ice sculptures, including animals, nature scenes, and one very strange pair of hands.

Though there are also standard warm and cold rooms available, the Icehotel's 15 art suites are its big draw and offer bedrooms defined by eye-catching sculptures made from ice that was harvested from a nearby frozen river. They were created by a total of 33 artists from 16 countries over the space of two weeks. A ceremony hall, ice bar, and a 4-m (13-ft) tower installation inspired by Brutalist architecture are other highlights.

The attention to detail is impressive, and in addition to the larger sculptures, smaller items like decorative chandeliers, plates, and glasses were made from ice too.

"We have planned Icehotel #30 since early spring when the Icehotel jury decided which art suites would become reality," says Luca Roncoroni, Creative Director at Icehotel. "Luckily the Arctic weather greeted us with perfect conditions for the construction period. There is something special creating art and design in collaboration with the river, the sky and the air."

Clear Water was created by AnnaSofia Mååg and Niklas Byman. "In front of the pride, the towering lion," reads the description. "A Biblical allusion, the male embodies the border between good and evil, while the drinking dectet alludes to a much-celebrated art piece"
Asaf Kliger

Animals, as usual, feature strongly this year, with the above sculpture of lionesses drinking with their cubs joined by a large cat guarding a bed, a polar bear atop an iceberg, and an oversized insect in a subterranean lair. However, there are some interesting abstract works too, including a kaleidoscope created using traditional Japanese ice cutting techniques.

Guests sleep on a thick mattress that rests on a wooden base, with reindeer hides and a thermal sleeping bag on hand to keep out the chill. They then receive a hot cup of lingonberry juice in the morning before heading out for a sauna and hot shower to warm up.

Kaleidoscope was created by Natsuki Saito and Shingo Saito. "Saito and Saito knew the Torne River ice was ready for Edo-Kiriko - a traditional Japanese glass cutting technique - and so they started engraving the ice with the same, absolute precision and intricacy practiced for centuries," reads the description
Asaf Kliger

If you'd like to visit the Icehotel in person, it's running until April 14, 2020, after which it will close and begin to melt away. You can also head to the gallery to see more of the stunning ice sculptures.

Source: Icehotel

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