Ice Symphony on Lake Baikal

Photo exhibition of the Olkhon/Baikal Ice Sculpture Festival
The Russian Orthodox Spiritual Cultural Center invites you to the grand universe of Lake Baikal to discover the magnificent sculptures made from the ice of the lake, at the foot of the Chamanka rock, emblematic totem of Baikal.
Here we are at the meeting point of 3 cultures chronologically installed over the long time: at the beginning, the Siberian shamanism of the ancient centuries, the first metaphysical expressions of humanity; then, in the dazzling wake of Genghis Khan, Buddhism and Pax Mongolica are developing… before giving way to the daring Cossacks, pioneers of the Russian soul. These successive legacies are expressed together subtly in the imagination of the creators.
The selected artists must let themselves be filled with the spirit of the place, its deep vibrations and its dizzying atmosphere in order to create in 5 days unique and delicate pieces, true homage to the beauty and purity of this lake unique in the world.
This Festival is inspired by an absolute respect for Baikal: nothing is taken, nothing is degraded; the ice is sublimated by sculptors in perfect osmosis with the environment… before cracking and being unavoidably absorbed by the thaw.
Thus, to extend beyond its material existence, ice sculpture needs to be immortalized in photography: these two artistic expressions combine perfectly here under the majestic light of the most beautiful ephemeral scene in the world.
To create wonder….