1 regarded the cold winter, snow, w ater and lake
surface as m y energy source, raw m aterial and factory.
— Hongtao Zhou
r
The Cold
Truth
S T O R Y B Y
Hongtao Zhou
M y ice furniture performance last winter
on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin,
carried multiple art/educational goals con-
cerning sustainability.
Furniture’s life cycle usually starts with
consuming natural resources (energy, mate-
rials, etc.) and ends w ith environmental
aftereffects (deforestation, coa, chemical
emission, landfill, etc.). The ice furniture,
however, was derived harmlessly from
Mother Nature as defined by local climate
and natural resources. It completed a sus-
tainable life cycle with minimum environ-
mental impact.
1 regarded the cold winter, snow, water
and lake surface as my energy source, raw
material and factory. Last January, working
only with my hands, I scooped up water
from open areas of the lake (lakeshore or
abandoned ice-fishing holes) and mixed it
with fresh snow in a bucket. Then I placed
the slush on the cold lake surface to shape
the furniture feet in sequence. Once the
cold wind froze them hard to the surface,
I continued to add more slush to the feet
to make legs, stretchers, seats, seat backs
and a tabletop. The furniture set grew up
from the lake surface into the air in about
five days (I worked six hours a day in the
cold wind with an average temperature of
15 degrees Fahrenheit). When the tables
and chairs were completed, I made some
snow bowls and placed them on top of
the table.
The show drew attention from the local
community because I started at the shore-
line location of the University of Wisconsin-
Madison Memorial Union Terrace. Many
visitors stopped by—
interviewing me, taking
pictures, trying the cold ice chairs and even
eating ice cream in the snow bowls. The ice
furniture started to connect the lake, the
030 american craft oct/novo?
www.freedowns.net & www.journal-plaiza.net
Photos/courtcsy of Hongtao Zhou.
