Joëlle Gagnon and her colleague Isabelle Gasse, a sculptor from Montreal, tried their luck last April when calls for projects were launched by the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, for its 35th anniversary.
“This ice hotel in Sweden is the oldest in the world. It is also one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious on the planet. The discipline of ice sculpture took root, among other things, thanks to this institution. For example, the Quebec ice hotel was inspired by that of Jukkasjärvi,” says Joëlle at the end of the phone, when contacted by The Daily.
In May, a month after submitting their project, the Quebec duo of sculptors finally received the long-awaited good news. “The artistic direction of the hotel contacted us. We were told that we were one of the 12 teams selected. In total, there were 130 applications. We were very proud. We were the only team from Canada in the group of participants,” specifies the Saguenéenne.
Joëlle Gagnon and Isabelle Gasse were able to discover the Swedish ways of doing things. They worked with engineers and architects among others. (Asaf Kliger )
At the end of November, the two artists flew to Sweden where they were received warmly and with great hospitality. “It was a crazy 13 days of creation. The teams there were phenomenal. Everything was planned like clockwork before we even arrived. On site, the work was so easy. If I needed a chainsaw to work on part of the room we were making, I took my phone and they would come and bring me the equipment within a minute,” assures Joëlle Gagnon.
“A protective cocoon”
Let’s now come to what the two Quebecers created once they arrived there. To be selected straight away, the pair offered to set up a comforting, completely unique room.
“We started with the idea that we wanted something round. We had the idea of making a nest, a warm cocoon,” explains the 39-year-old sculptor.
With the aim of making a nod to nature, the designers forged two tits, a bird which, for them, had great meaning.
“The titmice are very small birds that we find in Canada, but also in Sweden. They live in countries where the climate is cold in winter. Their nest is their place of respite. We wanted our room to reflect this spirit of comfort,” shares the woman who is originally from Ferland-et-Boileau.
The room sculpted by Joëlle Gagnon and her colleague Isabelle Gasse was completely unique. The other teams offered pieces different from theirs, sometimes more conceptual than figurative. (Come Warm Up Isabelle Gasse & Joelle Gagnon ICEHOTEL 35 Photo Asaf Kliger, Asaf Kliger )
It was therefore with great finesse that the duo worked the ice provided to them to achieve a very successful final result. “The ice we worked with comes from the Torne River, an iconic and historic river in Sweden. There, in the spring, the ice is removed from the waters and stored until the following winter. There was something very special about working with a natural material dating back several months. It was a bit surreal,” admits the Saguenay sculptor.
Promoting the art of sculpting
Having just returned from her experience in Sweden, Joëlle Gagnon was almost ready to leave for the National Capital, with six or seven other of her fellow sculptors from the region, to work on the 25th ice hotel in Quebec. “We really have little-known expertise in sculpture in the region. There is an array of people who are overflowing with talent. It would benefit from being better known,” she says.
When local artists like Joëlle make a name for themselves elsewhere in the world, it is the region that ends up growing out of it, attests the thirty-year-old. “Internationally, Saguenay has proven itself in the world of sculpture. Later this winter, for example, I am going with my colleague to defend our world champion title in Minnesota in the United States. This know-how that we have is unique and it is very appreciated wherever we go.”
The work of the Quebec pair was noticed and it could well be that the two sculptors will apply again to work on the Icehotel in the coming years. (Isabelle Alley)
In order to recognize and promote the art of ephemeral sculpture in the region, but also around the globe, Joëlle Gagnon and Isabelle Gasse have set up an organization, Sculpture Nature, which aims to highlight regional talents. “Basically, what I want is to be able to shine the region, shine Quebec through my art,” concludes La Ferboillienne.
