Ice Maps / Mapping Ice – book

This limited edition book arose from a research project exploring the material of ice, and its unusual application in printing. In general terms, the book serves as an artist’s reflection upon ‘making’ and how natural materials such as ice and what we do with them influence the way we think. With reference to research and examples of site-specific work produced during printmaking residency in Sweden and subsequent production of work in the artist’s studio, it demonstrates how natural phenomena can be apprehended and represented through the means of artistic production and how these can be translated into aesthetic experience.

The book’s case studies evince knowledge gained from the natural environment and comprises of the production of unique ice-prints on locations, practical experiences with live ice projections and an exhibition of the residency’s outcomes in the place of the work’s origin. 

The book demonstrates practical experiments in documentation and generation of environmental data visualisations as well as participatory models of engaging the public. The results of 8-month long experiments are presented in the form of prints and photographs with annotations describing the technical aspects of their development.

The book also sought to demonstrate the poetical potential of ice. The ephemeral qualities of ice, such as: instability, fragility, sensitivity to heat, etc., proved not only its subtlety but also its power. In the course of this research, ice emerged as an extraordinary means of expression, whose qualities revealed potential as both an inspiring material for print production, and a resourceful support to visual communication and abstract thinking

Our relationships with the world around us are for the most part – temporal. This is where ice, as a metaphor for time, chance and searching for control over the fragility of our own destinies and of the environment, resonates with us.