The ice has melted. The Paintings Below Zero project has been torn down, marking the end of a glorious display of illuminated ice art set in a medieval fortress near Torino, Italy, and created by Roberts Creek artist Gordon Halloran with a team that included Caitlin Hicks, art college interns Jaz Halloran and Erik Olson and lighting and refrigeration specialists.
The group returned home last week, fatigued but happy with their success. Though Halloran was still jet lagged, his eyes lit up as he described the process of transforming an ancient church into one vast canvas that combined ice crystals with pigment in textured, vertical and horizontal shapes."It was three dimensional painting," said the portrait artist. "The sculptural element wasn't as important as the colour embedded in the piece. It was like using a canvas on which I could paint on all sides."
While work was in progress, Halloran's role was to orchestrate. He had to search for the line through the ice, the break that shatters the canvas, the shape the colour makes when it meets the ice crystals. Then he worked with that shape, editing it, cropping it, even cracking the sheets of ice until they reached a desired effect.
"It's the surprise that makes it exciting," he says.Was it worth it? "Oh, yes. When visitors came into the church and just went wow." He smiles in happy memory. But it was hard work. After Halloran had put in a good two months of hands on, seven days a week preparation, the display opened on schedule in late January before the Olympic Games. The team took a break, but Halloran's next task was just beginning - being available to the public. Tourists, local officials, other artists and the world's press came to view: Austrian and Italian TV along with Canada's Global and CBC. The team had promotional help from the Canadian government foreign affairs branch, and they managed to bend the ear of Minister of Tourism, Sports and the Arts, Olga Illich, during her visit.
Halloran's ice logo depicting the VANOC (Vancouver Olympic Committee) symbol for the 2010 games was exhibited at B.C./Canada House in Torino. The five by four foot logo, rendered in ice, presented its own challenges. Halloran fervently hoped it would not melt in the warm reception room. But it lasted the week and many visitors posed with it for photos or left their fingerprints on the surface.
Images from the show will be available on www.paintingsbelowzero.com. Halloran has plans to collect these images for a book and poster print publication.
Although much of the project was funded, the team dug deep in their own pockets to cover such expenses as accommodation. A Coast fundraising event is planned for the future.
