The Ice Road in Luleå

Luleå's Ice Road is a seasonal phenomenon happening during winter, when a temporary road is created over the frozen sea, thick enough to support vehicular traffic. This ice road links the mainland to surrounding islands, significantly expanding Luleå’s public space and creating temporary areas of cultural and recreational significance for the local community.

The Ice Road poetically embodies the cycles of transformation and transition emphasised by the Luleå Biennial’s curatorial framework On the threshold of 1:1. This seasonal occurrence highlights the interconnectedness of natural and built environments with modes of communal conviviality, poetically embodying the possibility of coming together over transient grounds.

The biennial presents site-specific artworks by Luleå-based Sudanese artist Fadlabi at key locations on the Ice Road. These works are installed concurrently with the opening of the Ice Road, before the biennial starts, and are removed as the ice starts melting, before the biennial’s end, aligning with the rhythm of the seasons rather than the exhibition's defined timeline. Throughout the biennial’s period these works find correlations to Fadlabi’s exhibition at Galleri Syster.

– Aude Christel Mgba and Bruno Alves de Almeida
Artistic Directors, The Luleå Biennial 2024 –On the Threshold of 1:1

Translation of the texts in the artwork:

Love is generous
For the soul of Nils Amund Raknerud
For the love of people and to protect their bodies from wind