ICEHOTEL #23 The Reception: Unfold

Name: Unfold

Artists: Lena Kriström & Susan Christianen, Sweden

ICEHOTEL #23 The Luxury Suite: Absinthe-Minded

Name: Absinthe-Minded

Artists: Tjåsa Gusfors & Ulrika Tallving, Sweden

Absinthe-Minded takes us behind the scenes to a world of luxury and dreams. A sensual world shrouded in seductive perfume.

We want to give our guests a playful, mystical interior without sharp angles but spiced with poetry and a mix of fairytale.

Time travels backwards as you enter this suite. It is as you almost can hear the distant melody of an old music box that is out of tune.

Artist Tjåsa Gusfors below is one of the women behind Absinthe-Minded:

What is the message, what do you want to convey with this piece?
We want to give the guest something extraordinaryin this Luxury Suite. First class design and craftsmanship will take us beyond the ordinary day and in to a world of dreams. Beautiful figurative ice sculptures from the fables and a unique but flourish furniture completely made in frosty ice.

This is a room that breathes interactivity, that captivate and enchants guests immerse themselves in a playful and otherwordly environment.

How do you see yourself as an artist and an individual?
I am an artist and perform on stage with music, theatre and art. In my world all forms of art belong together. They blend and you find a rhythm – an interaction and composition that I find irresistible.

What are your main motivations as an artist?
My creativity is often sparkedby injustice in the interaction between human and nature.

And, I think, typical for my art is that I use a playful element to mesh the severity and the deeper message to attract engagement from my audience.

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Illuminated

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Illuminated

Name: Illuminated

Artists: Eszter Sziksz & Nikkila Carroll, USA

We have chosen to work with the many cycles and stages of water. Water seems to be the most natural environment for all life. Using not only water and what it means to humankind and its many transformations through its cycles. In this design we attempt to combine all of the cycles and meaning into one space while keeping it a quiet and peaceful place. The title ‘Illuminated’ is used in a literal sense, but also represents an illumination of the mind and spirit.

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Bedtime Story

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Bedtime Story

Name: Bedtime Story

Artists: Wilfred Stijge & Edith van de Wetering , the Netherlands

Before you fall asleep it is nice to look at something, forget about your troubles, just look, enjoy and fall asleep. At home, you would turn the television on, but this leaves you no imagination. Here, you can just look and let your mind wander wherever you want.

The room is like a peep show box, inside you see something to enjoy and that allows you relax – maybe the representation of the sleep rhythm, a landscape inspired by One thousand and One Nights, or some inspiring shapes. We do not want to decide exactly what is inside the box, because of our way of working with snow and ice. We go to a project with a concept and get the final inspiration from the location itself, the people we meet, the weather and more. 

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Nest

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Nest

Name: Nest

Artist: Maurizio Perron

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Cube³

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Cube³

Name: Cube³

Artists: Marie Deblocq & Luc Voisin, France

The concept that we decided to explore is the simple and geometrical shape of the material, which is used to build ICEHOTEL…The title Cube³ comes from the fact that these blocks, coming out of the walls, look first like squares, before they turn into three dimensional elements with their six faces. Little by little, the squares are turning into cubes as they get larger and taller. The bed is hidden behind two blocks and only appears when you walk around them.

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: The Flower

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: The Flower

Name: The Flower

Artists: Natsuki Saito & Shingo Saito, Japan

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Eternity

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Eternity

Name: Eternity

Artists: Fernando Inçaurgarat & Alfredo Juan Diez, Argentina

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Virgin in Space

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Virgin in Space

Name: Virgin in Space

Artists: Monica Popescu, Romania & Petros Dermatas, Greece

Our future lies beyond planet Earth, in space. Our ability to colonize space will in effect impact our capacity to survive as a species in whole…Triggered by the settings of Sci-Fi movies such as Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968), Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Solaris’ (1972), as well as the contemporary British production ‘Moon’ (2009), we want to recreate a space shuttle environment in another extreme setting – at ICEHOTEL.

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Cold & Crazy

ICEHOTEL #23 Art Suite feature: Cold & Crazy

Name: Cold & Crazy

Artists: Jonas Gencevicius & Jurgita Genceviciene, Lithuania

“Cold & Crazy” or just a snowman with style. In our language the word snowman translates directly to brainless man. The whole idea is for the room to be fun for visitors – if they have their own perceptions of the work then I’m glad – it is meant to be open for free interpretation.