NewsRelease

(Posted 3-11-04)
Contact: Dan Nonte, 336-334-5371

UNCG Students Build Frozen Art in Finland

GREENSBORO – Fifteen students from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro traveled to Finland in February to help build works of art and architecture from snow and ice in the first international Snow Show.

Led by lecturer Ericka Hedgecock from the Department of Interior Architecture, the group spent two weeks working alongside international students from countries from Austria to Australia. Students bundled up to their eyes as the temperature dipped to 18 below zero.

“We worked through freezing wind and snow, over the weekend and into the evenings to see these projects to the end,” Hedgecock said. “It was really amazing to witness the spirit of collaboration between students from all over the world. The friendships formed there will last long after the snow and ice melt.”

The students worked with several teams of renowned artists and designers, among them Yoko Ono. One project involved creating a grid of 81 holes, each a meter squared, cut in the sea ice. The holes were lit from beneath with colored lights and filled with water from the participating countries. When the weather warms, the ice will melt and the waters will mingle, symbolizing the cooperation of the workers who created it.

“At first I felt very uncomfortable walking to this site, as it is offshore a bit, but they assured me it was safe,” Hedgecock said. “The scariest part was when the ice creaked – moaned really – while we were working.”

In another project, one-ton blocks of ice were used to build spiraling walls. The works were assembled in the arctic cities of Kemi and Rovaniemi in the Lapland region where they will remain on display through March 31.

The UNCG group, one of only two American teams, included second- and third-year interior architecture students Riann Adams, Ioana Balasa, Kelley Bozarth, Addie Brown, Sarah Margaret Carroll, Erin Davis, Bailey Gatens, Katie Holmes, Laurel Jackson, Awena Krell, Callie Narron, Caity Osborn, Cindy Stelmach, Amanda Whittemore and Catherine Young.

“At times the students were overwhelmed by the amount of work, but when it was over they had such a sense of accomplishment,” she said. “I know for many this experience will change their lives and widen their perspective of design.”

The project grew out of UNCG’s exchange program with the University of Oulu, which Hedgecock participated in herself as a student. UNCG has been invited to send a team to next year’s Snow Show when the event moves to St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Among the architects involved in the 2004 event are Tadao Ando, Diller + Scofidio, Williams + Tsien, LOT-ek and Zaha Hadid. The artists include Kiki Smith, Top Changtrakul, Ernesto Neto and Rachel Whiteread.

To learn more about the exhibition, visit www.thesnowshow.net.

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