These two installations involved suspending a large block of ice over a curved sheet of stainless steel. Embedded in the ice were layers of stones which, as the ice melted, fell and struck the metal sheet.
The sheet had contact microphones attached to it, which amplified the sound of the impacts through speakers attached to the scaffolding.
The first installation took place at the Oxford Bodleian Library in 2005.
The ice blocks were custom-made by Hamilton Ice Sculptures.
A statement from Max on the projects:
“Most of the work I make uses kinetic energy which produces movement and sound. Ice is a new material for me, I am using it as a dynamic battery of stored energy, reflecting the way in which glaciers react to the environment with movement and change. Melting ice changes to water and, through gravity, falls. The ice, losing its grip on the stones, makes a long series of unpredictable events perceived through sound and vision.”
The second installation took place at The Eden Project, Cornwall, in 2008.
Below are two excerpts of recordings from the ice sculptures.
Caution: Loud sound