Ice Follies 2025

Frozen Frames: An Ice Follies Retrospective Photo Documentation by Liz Lott

Presented in Partnership with WKP Kennedy Gallery

Frozen Frames, An Ice Follies Retrospective Photo Documentation by Liz Lott” celebrates two decades of capturing the dynamic interplay of art, photography, and northern Ontario’s frozen landscapes. From the inaugural Ice Follies in 2004 to its 11th biennial, this retrospective honours the innovative installations and performances that transformed Lake Nipissing into a canvas of creativity. Showcasing one photograph for every participating artist since the event’s inception, this exhibition reflects Lott’s heartfelt dedication to documenting the magic of Ice Follies and its impact on our community and beyond.

Artist Statement:

Thank you for attending “Frozen Frames, An Ice Follies Retrospective
Photo Documentation by Liz Lott”

This celebratory exhibition represents my gratitude, love and appreciation for this dynamic, innovative and unique local art event. With the inspiring combination of art, photography and the surrounding local land and lakescapes, documenting Ice Follies over the past 20 years has been an exciting passion and a true and important honour. 

From the inaugural year, the 2004 Ice Follies art catalogue introduction reads;
“The purpose of the Ice Follies project is to research, develop, produce and document a site- specific group exhibition of three-dimensional “architectural” works by Canadian contemporary artists on the surface of a vast frozen lake.”

I’d like to acknowledge the original founder of the “exhibition of ice-fishing hut inspired works – artist and curator, Dermot Wilson. New to the city in 2004 and his position as director at the Kennedy Gallery he was immediately impressed with the beautiful vastness of Lake Nipissing – so much so that he’d already resolved to somehow showcase contemporary art on it’s surface. It wasn’t long after that the name “Ice Follies” came to him one night and “bounced him out of bed” with excitement.

Back in 2004, at the genesis of Ice Follies, I was a budding photographer when this exciting new site specific biennial was about to carve it’s very first tracks on to the frozen surface Lake Nipissing. By extreme luck, with all of my savings and to launch my career, I had just purchased a medium format Hasselblad camera that had belonged to the infamous local documentation photographer, William Forder. Documenting Ice Follies was offered to me and i was to be my first exciting photo project. Documentation work was my core focus an foundation as a photographer. My first film camera purchase was made solely to document and archive my paintings. To have this exciting opportunity to capture so many passions combined meant I was fervently buzzing about, towing my yellow sled of camera gear, and capturing images as much as possible.

From the event’s initial onset, with both invited and juried artists at the helm, it’s been a wonderful and highly successful cumulation of site specific art that celebrates our distinct northern Ontario winter, quirky ice fishing culture and our frozen lake/land-scapes Wha makes it especially unique is the endless play of the dynamic open air, winter elements – light, weather, temperature, time, all creating a powerful play of incredible chance synchronicities, surrounding and gracing the works and their excited spectators. To capture all of this, I would photograph the installations multiple times a day, literally around the clock. Shooting solo at 2am, at -35 degrees Celsius with a tripod, numb fingers and the lake ice popping an “whomping” loudly around me was not an unusual occurrence for me.

Every Ice Follies’ participating artist – installation or performance – since 2004 has one photo in this exhibition. It was difficult to narrow it down, but I chose the most complimentary a dynamic image for each piece. Documenting and depicting each artist or collective’s creation and hard work is a responsibility that took seriously and whole heartedly and I hope this is conveyed through these images.

My “Ode to Ice” installation is just that. As a multidisciplined artist who also works in clay, I wanted to create a piece dedicated to what fostered the idea of Ice Follies. I also wanted it to be interactive to allow exhibition visitors to play, hear (tapped together the pieces sound like ice) and build their own ice follies pieces with the most basic of materials. The clay shards were individually shaped and decorated to mimic the range of light, surface and sky conditions mirrored on Lake Nipissing’s frozen surface.

In the media – both online and in print, Ice Follies and reached far beyond our city. My documentation images and artist essays about Ice Follies have been published in Audubon Magazine and also notable North American art publications such as Espace, Artichoke, Sculpture magazines. Last year, along with Dermot Wilson’s daughter, Imogen Clendinning’s Ice Follies essay and my image of Dermot’s Ice Follies piece “Archive on Ice” was on the cover of Blackflash magazine, based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Every two years, Ice Follies brings together not just talented artists but also a vast collective of dedicated artist organizations, funders, local businesses, volunteers, sponsors, and, gratefully, thousands of eager spectators and fans – both new and returning. My sincere thank you to everyone who has taken part over the years and helped to shape and develop Ice Follies into the amazing event that it is today. I’m so grateful to Jennifer and Kennedy Gallery staff for the opportunity to share this exciting milestone – the accomplishment of 10 Ice Follies events, coinciding with the event’s 11th biennial.

Artist Bio:

Liz Lott is a North Bay-based photographer, visual artist, jeweller, and children’s art instructor. Since 2004, she has been the official photographer for the Ice Follies Biennial, a site-specific art festival on Lake Nipissing, capturing its dynamic art installations in breathtaking photographs that have gained international attention. Liz’s photography is known for its intimate portraiture and environmental themes, blending painting and photography to explore humanity’s impact on nature. In addition to her photography career, Liz creates unique hand-painted porcelain jewellery and teaches art to children, further contributing to her community as the volunteer Children’s Art Education Co-ordinator at the W.K.P. Kennedy Gallery.

Social Links:

Liz Lott Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_lizlott_/
Liz Lott Photography Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizlottphotography/
Liz Lott Photography Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizlottphotography/