Working eight hours a day for 11 days, Algarve artist Rodrigo Ferreira has recreated a historical palace in Amsterdam to exhibit at an ice festival that runs until March.
The ice reproduction of the Crystal Palace (Paleis voor Volksvlijt), a historic building that was destroyed in a fire decades ago, is one of the works included in “Art Below Zero“, one of Europe’s leading ice sculpture exhibitions, which can be seen until March 2, 2025.
The festival’s theme is the 750th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam. Ferreira’s participation came about through an invitation from the event’s artistic director, who allowed him to return to the international circuit after spending seven of 10 years in London on his academic training.
“In these big events, which involve a lot of people and huge logistics, there is always an artistic team that invites people, knowing the experience of each sculptor. That’s how the invitation came about, and I was given the sculpture in question of the Palácio da Indústria, a beautiful palace that was destroyed in a fire in 1929,” the artist tells Lusa.
Rodrigo Ferreira said that he had already found some research done by the festival’s artistic team, but upon arrival, he delved deeper into the preparation, taking “11 days of intensive work, eight hours a day” to make his sculpture.
“It is 10 metres wide, six metres high and two metres deep, with around six tonnes of ice worked into it,” he said, explaining that the entire composition is made of several blocks, shaped with the help of chainsaws with various blades and chisels so sharp that “they cut just by touching your finger”.
The sculptor is “very pleased” with the final result, which the artistic direction recognised and also allowed him to “execute a UEFA (European Champions) Cup won by Ajax,” the Dutch city’s club.
“As the theme of the event is the 750th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam, Ajax is an emblem of the city, as is the Cup that they won three years in a row, from 1971 to 1973, and then again in 1995,” he explained, pointing out that this piece was made from a single block and measures 1.20 metres in height, 68 centimetres in width and 48 centimetres in length.
The artist emphasised that the cup handles, one of the trophy’s most important details, should have been made separately and glued on at the end. However, Rodrigo Ferreira chose to “make them from the block,” which complicates the work as they are a “very fragile detail.”
With an artistic career spanning more than 20 years, which began with sand sculptures and has taken him to around 170 international events, Rodrigo Ferreira is exhibiting his work among the 135 works by 43 sculptors.
LUSA
