December is here, and public spaces around the world are celebrating the season with festive trees of various styles and sizes. The tree currently on display outside Central Saint Martins’ Granary Square campus in Kings Cross, London may take the prize for most unique—not for its stature, but for its unusual presentation. As Dezeen reports, the tree appears to be frozen in a 23-foot-tall block of ice.
The installation is the work of Alex Chinneck, a British artist known for mixing optical illusions and architecture. His latest work is meant to be a holiday-themed version of a fly-in-an-ice-cube. The piece’s cheery nature is most apparent at night when the tree’s 1200 lights are illuminated from within its 2.2-ton package.
The exhibit will remain up until January 6, and there’s no chance of it melting between now and then. That’s because the block isn’t actually ice, but a massive chunk of resin. Even the “puddle” pooled around the bottom is made from 550 pounds of clear wax. But if Chinneck did decide to go the literal route it wouldn’t be the first time an artist left a giant ice block in a public space and called it art.
[h/t Dezeen]
Banner image: iStock
December 5, 2016 – 9:00am