Admiring SnowVillage's snow and ice art

The SnowVillage's theme is the Arctic Illusions in this year. Previously for two years the theme was Game of Thrones, that made me admire ice art. I was surprised, that this year is already Snowvillage's 19th time for the exhibition. It is a pity that I haven't seen seem them all.

I visited in SnowVillage end of January and this year in Lapland has  got lots of snow. Threre were about two-metre-high snow along the Lainiotie. When I arrived to Lainio, first I set my camera to photography for dim place, and I knew in advance that taking photos would be challenging in low light and in different colors light combinations. Also, the amount of light varies inside from room to another.

Anu and Nea, who are working in SnowVillage's reception, very kindly helped me by giving SnowVillage's background information. They also gave me another time to go in to see and take photos because my camera's battery was empty too soon during the first round. It would be worthwhile to take with extra battery and warm clothes also because the internal temperature is approx - 5 degrees. Surprisingly quickly the coldness reached the fingertips, too.

SnowVillage is a huge-sized snow castle with built-in support frames and molds and it's the Europe's largest snow hotel. Inside the snow castle you can find different sized of rooms or corridors, where the ice and snow sculptures are exhibited. In addition, the snow castle has bedrooms for overnight stay, an ice bar, an ice restaurant and an ice chapel.

The ice has been made from the water of the Lainiojoki River. Some amount of ice is stored over summertime. However, the building of the snow castle depends on the nature's winter timetable, because million pounds of snow is needed. In this year, SnowVillage was ready in early time because the winter came in October.

Snow and ice are used for building of huge volumes and working time for building wears approx. 15 000 hours of work. The work is done by approx. 50 artists who are coming from different European countries. This year's exhibition has been based of Italian art and ideas about illusions. First the ideas are outlined on paper or in miniature, and after that working starts with the ice. The most of work is done cooperation between artists. I saw this in practice when I came to Lainio and the SnowVillage's logo was improved by several artists.

With working of ice blocks, the artists are using chain saw, pestle, compass, different types of chisels and blades as working tools. The ice is handled in many ways and brightness is done by crystallizing/polishing to get patterns and shapes more visible.

SnowVillage has a lot of foreign visitors and some of them have also spend night in snow castle's bedroom. Sleeping is possible in sleeping bags which keep the heat very well inside. There is also a separate Sauna, shower and toilet facilities, however, these are not made from ice 😊. If it difficult to sleep in snow bedroom for some reason, the sleeping place can be changed to hotel room. I was told that the guests have enjoyed a lot and I suppose they have certainly experienced something unique while sleeping in the snow bedroom.

Some couples have got married in the ice chapel, and surely the wedding ceremony has been memorable for both the married couple and the guests.

The snow castle is surprisingly large, so you should have time enough to see all the ice and snow sculptures. More information and great pictures can be found on the SnowVillage's website and on Facebook. I was thinking should I read more information about the exhibition beforehand for better photographing. On the other hand, I prefer to be surprised on the spot and to be completely unaware in advance. Maybe it's the best way and not to have any ready images or other's opinions beforehand. In addition, ice sculptures seen in real are much more impressive than when seen on net. Special attention to this year exhibition was that seeing sculptures needed attentiveness and ability to perceive. For example, when I looked at the green text on the wall "Perspective is everything" too close, I saw only some part of the text. Until I realized I had to go backwards and only then I saw the whole text. As art in general, also SnowVillage's art will surely be seen and outlined in different ways and interpretations.

In my opinion the most amazing sculptures in this year were the rhinoceros, the female profile between two faces, the leopard of the green forest, the ball wall, the combination of the eagle and the man's head, the climbing snails and many more. The visit to SnowVillage was once again amazing and the only annoyance thing was that I did not notice all the details while it took time to set the camera adjustments. Only afterwards, when I saw the pictures, I understood, which the angle of picture would have been better to take. I just need more time to practice taking photos.

I asked from Anu and Nea, are the artist sorry when sculptures are melting and flowing back to the Lainio River in the spring. They answered that they are not sorry because in this way the artists will get an empty table and the preparation for the new season. The new start with all the new ideas has been rewarding, the artists have told. Through this I also understood the viewpoint of the visitors that it is very nice to come again and see something new and different art next time.

SnowVillage is located in Lainio village, between Ylläsjärvi and Kittilä. The distance from Ylläsjärvi is approx. 15 kilometers, first 10 kilometers from Ylläsjärvi to Kittilä direction and then to the right through Lainiotie about 5 kilometers. The distance between Kittilä's and Ylläsjärvi is almost the same.