ICE MASTER HOUSE, 2024
featured in the 13th edition of Amsterdam Lighting Festival
‘ICE MASTER HOUSE’ is a small floating house located in the middle of a canal, only accessible when the canal freezes over. Traditionally, the ice master (IJsmeester), who ensures the quality of the ice and monitors the conditions on the frozen canal, would be busy in winter. However, in this speculative scenario, the effects of climate change have made it unpredictable when they will be able to start working again. The installation conveys this story by stating, ‘TEMPORARILY CLOSED UNTIL CANAL FREEZE.’
In the Netherlands, it is considered natural to have four distinct seasons, with hot summers and cold winters. Many people in these repetitive cycles tend to enjoy seasonal activities, such as swimming in lakes during summer and ice-skating during winter. I find these seasonal customs can be a ritual that connects us to our community, history and nature. For the Dutch, ice-skating on frozen canals was one of the biggest seasonal rituals. Through their ice-skating and waiting for the next winter, they teach themselves to appreciate the transformations of nature and generate positive energy. However, due to the notorious "climate change," this ritual is disappearing. Winter is no longer always cold enough to create 15cm thick frozen canals, and ice-skating on canals is no longer an annual event. The problem is that the disappearance of this ritual doesn't seem very serious to us, as our lives seem more convenient with warmer winters, and there are too many other things that capture our attention besides ice-skating on canals. With this installation, I aim to raise awareness and enable visitors to reflect on the past, present, and future of our seasonal landscape, which has been significantly impacted by climate change.
