Julie Upmeyer

 The Freeze - one week

The cylinders were filled and frozen in the walk-in freezer at Iceland Caernarfon - naturally! Inside each 220 litre polyethene tank was a waxed paper formation I had created out of surplus printed A4 paper. I designed a folded unit that could combined to form any number of different sculptural formations. The paper was dipped in melted wax before folding, transforming the opaque sheets into a translucent material. Wax resisted water, water succumbed to the freezing temperatures, the mould held strong, pushing the expanding ice upward, creating cracks and fissures. Water expands at a rate of approximately 9% when its frozen, creating cracks and fissures in the forming ice, distorting and mutilating the paper within. 

The Parade - 2 hours

The 220 kilo blocks had to be transported from Iceland Caernarfon to their respective destinations, one on the docks behind Galeri and the other to the back yard of CARN. This happened with a manual forklift and many volunteers! We took to the streets, as many of sidewalks in Caernarfon are slate or stone.

Extraction - 5 hours

How to coax an ice block out if its shell? Leverage, time and momentum. The tank had a slight undercut in one spot, plus a lip, plus a huge weight with no handles. After an hour and a half of pushing, pulling, jostling, balancing, rocking and sliding, the first block slowly peeked out and slid gently onto the ground. The second one came out quicker, it had melted more, and we had more help.

The Reveal – 10 minutes

After getting the ice blocks upright (no small feat), arranging the paper units and filling the plexi sphere, the moment arrived – the realisation of how it had looked inside my head for so many months. This was ‘the picture’, and the beginning of the end.

The livestream – 48 hours

The livestream was set up at CARN, filming the melting of the ice in the back garden. The stream was present in the lives of various households around the world over the course of the weekend. People peeked in, noting the activities and sounds of the baby seagull and the attentive parents. The balloon burst, waking at least two people from their peaceful afternoon snooze. Night fell, layering the sounds of darkness over the daytime hours of viewers in other time zones.

The Melt – 48 hours / 90+ hours

Melting rates depend on temperature, sunlight, airflow and the size of the ice crystals. The block at Galeri melted steadily and was dutifully melted within the 48 hours of the show. People passed, touched the ice, noticed the softening of the cracks and internal water-flows. They returned the next day, as if visiting a friend, to check on the progress. The block behind CARN experienced the same temperature and sunlight, but had no wind or breeze to speak of, which slowed the melt considerably, practically imperceptible to the camera.

The Exhibition  – continues

The recording of the livestream exists as a unit of time - compressible, extendable, sharable. The mangled waxed paper lives on, the violence of freezing and thawing could not completely destroy it. The units can be disassembled, stacked, stored, and taken out again.

Huge thanks to Menna Thomas and Peter Lewis for their unwavering support.
AND
Special thanks goes to Iceland Store, Caernarfon who agreed for us to use their walk-in freezer! (Manager: Jenny Lines, Asst. Manager: Jamie Griffiths Transportation team: David)

This project is part of the 'A Breath of Welsh Air 48h Neukölln’ exhibition.

Palis Advisory Berlin and Caernarfon Artist Regional Network (CARN) joined forces to present artwork from Wales at the 48h Neukölln festival in Berlin. 

The selected Welsh artists were: Rebecca F Hardy, Sarah Holyfield, Rachel Rosen, Alec Shepley, Julie Upmeyer, Hannah Wardle

The Curatorial Team: Wolfgang Schnurr (Palis Advisory Berlin), Menna Thomas (CARN Artist Group Co-ordinator), Peter Lewis (Palis Advisory, Art Consultant and CARN Artist)

The physical artworks were exhibited at locations in Caernarfon (Wales) and were presented virtually to the Neukölln audience via digital streaming, film and audio formats. This exhibition was also included in this years ‘Wales in Germany 2021’ event, a Welsh Government campaign showcasing the breadth of activity and exchange happening between Wales and Germany.