The ice reproduction of the Crystal Palace (Paleis voor Volksvlijt), a historic building that was destroyed in a fire in 1929, is one of the works included in “Art Below Zero”, one of the main ice sculpture exhibitions in Europe, which can be seen until March 2, 2025, in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.

The festival's theme is the 750th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam and the Portuguese artist's participation came through an invitation from the event's artistic direction, which gave him the possibility of returning to the international circuit, after dedicating seven of his 10 years spent in London to his academic training.

“In these big events, which involve a lot of people and huge logistics, there is always an artistic team that invites them, knowing the experience of each sculptor. This is how the invitation came and I was delegated the sculpture in question, from the Palácio da Indústria, a beautiful palace that was destroyed in 1929 by a fire”, explained the artist.

Rodrigo Ferreira said he had already found some research carried out by the festival's artistic team, but then deepened the preparation upon arrival, requiring “11 days of intensive work, eight hours a day, to execute this architectural sculpture”.

“It is 10 meters wide, six meters high and two meters deep, around six tons of ice worked”, he said, explaining that the entire composition is made with several blocks, shaped with the help of chainsaws with various blades and chisels so sharp that “cuts just by touching it with your finger”.

The sculptor confessed to being “very satisfied” with the final result, which was recognized by the artistic direction and even allowed him to later “execute a UEFA [European Champions] Cup won by Ajax”, a club from the Dutch city.

“As the theme of the event is the 750th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam, Ajax is an emblem of the city, as is the World Cup that it won three consecutive years, from 1971 to 1973, and then again in 1995”, he explained, highlighting that this piece was made from a single block and measures 1.20 meters high, 68 centimeters wide and 48 centimeters long.