A company preserving the art of ice sculpting in Britain is celebrating its 50th birthday.
Hamilton Ice Sculptures, based in London, have revived a traditional form of ice sculpting.
The first one of its kind in Britain when it was set up in 1976, the company’s portfolio ranges from ice bars to creating ice wheels that cars are capable of driving on.
Duncan Hamilton, the company’s founder describes ice as “unlike any other sculpting material because it changes in front of you”.
Originally a chef in The Mirabelle and Le Caprice, Hamilton became interested in sculpting food into art.
Eventually he changed his medium to ice, even doing a live carving on BBC’s Blue Peter in 1977.
Duncan has since passed the company onto his son, Jamie.
He said: “Reaching 50 years is a significant moment for the family.”
Jamie added that over its half a century lifetime, the company has moved far beyond individual decorative pieces to working with theatre companies and using ice to communicate “serious messages about the world”.
One of the most challenging projects the company have taken on is the Ice Bear Project, which involved freezing a life-size bronze polar bear skeleton and artists sculpting it live.
As members of the public were allowed to touch and contribute to the sculpture’s melting, the project served as a warning about disappearing Arctic ice.
Duncan said: “The project made climate change feel immediate and visible because people could watch the bear disappear.”
The project was a collaboration with Mark Coreth, a wildlife sculptor and supported by the WWF.
Jamie added: “There is no single type of Hamilton Ice project. Some works support the arts such as a theatre production or a film set and others are created to be entertainment to thousands of people.
“The variety of the company has kept the company moving forward for 50 years. Our aim remains to create things people haven’t seen before.”
Featured image courtesy of Aqueous Digital
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