The Ice, you, I see you, our melted souls

- collaboration between

Marina Moreno and Eeva-Maria Mutka

Installation with a one-off performance

Interdisciplinary work, where movement, sculpture and installation become a unique artistic process.

7 day R&D residency, granted by ArtSpace LifeSpace, at the Island gallery, Bristol, Apr 2026

E-M: "Marina and I share a background in somatic dance-movement, and we are both installation makers.

This project came about from a desire to work together, inspired by an initial studio day of spontaneous building of an ice-like space where our materials were filling a 16m2 space with pillars, -above, below & to all sides-, constantly transforming with movement and making, over hours,

all the while, acres of tracing paper & cellophane creating a strong sound score. The materials led the way. Building the environment, and bodies in movement, were truly co-emerging.

At the Island gallery this situation couldn't be repeated (technically), so we used what accessible materials there were to hand and listened to what the space needed. We each contributed ideas and were getting to know our sensory materials through movement improvisations. We would use music and work in silence. We would watch and witness each other, practice writing directly from moving and speaking current experience in our own languages (Italian / Finnish).

A score was formed for a performance of about 45 minutes. This performance included making and unmaking some of the sculptural forms, live, and an invitation for the audience to be part of the dance, too. We hope to get an opportunity to collaborate again and develop certain aspects of this work - like projection and audience participation - further, with funding,

and bring our working method to new sites/spaces."

Marina and Eeva-Maria are both migrant artists.

Marina comes from the city of Venice surrounded by a lagoon and

Eeva-Maria from the Finnish Arctic where winter temperatures freeze land and water, at least until now.⁠

Photo Chris Rydlewski

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Marina and Eeva-Maria are both migrant artists.

Marina comes from the city of Venice surrounded by a lagoon and Eeva-Maria from the Finnish Arctic where winter temperatures freeze land and water, at least until now.⁠

Photo Chris Rydlewski

⁠

Marina:

"Traces and images of nature are evoked, exploring our deepest connections.

Ice can carry our memories just as these are stored in our bodies.

We are reminded of our ancestors.

As ice melts and our cells unfold, we can release ourselves, our hopes,

pain and common ground.

Trees stay tall and whisper to us as we talk to them, they give us strength and connect us both to nature and our humanity. We find power in our fragility."

Photo Chris Rydlewski

The Ice, you, I see you, our melted souls

The Ice, you, I see you, our melted souls 3

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" Water teaches us that nothing stands alone...[Water] is migrant, cyclical, vulnerable, and yet infinitely resilient...

to think with water is to think in relation. "

The Word for World Is Water - world building and creative resistance through liquid alliances, writings collated by Katya Garcia-Anton & Margarida Mendes.⁠

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Photo Chris Rydlewski

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“Here are some thoughts on The Ice, I see you, our melted souls. A beautiful poetic encounter with landscapes of ice/water. I was really struck by what lay beneath the materials, souls revealed from the past, which took me to a place of Deep Time. The shifting of the materials, paper, and cloth, and bodies revealed layers of our entanglement with landscape and place. I would love to see this work develop!”

(Mary)

“Evocative, ethereal, thought-provoking“ (Jonathan)

Photo by Deborah

“Such an interesting idea, to show art through movement, living sculptures. A great combination of theatre, poetry, music, somatic dance, meditation, all in one performance by 2 amazing artists, it was so enjoyable to watch” (Elmira)

“Thought last night was very successful, interesting and very visually effective.” (Deborah)

Photo E-M Mutka

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“It was lovely, really glad I saw it, it felt really special...I loved the different phases it had...your use of materials was great...the joyful spring dance was really beautiful and Marina how you brought your friend to dance...under-the-ice was a particularly powerful moment...both of you speaking non-English text, the richness of that….and then that you specifically brought in climate justice, that was really strong for me... Thank you!“ (Louie).

“I was impressed by how you set up the installation, it fitted the space very well. Loved the corner with the plinths piled up like sheets of ice! Loved that you spoke Finnish and Italian!” (Itta)

Photo E-M Mutka