In Sapporo, snow becomes a shared language

On Feb. 6, the final day of the International Snow Sculpture Contest in Sapporo, the storm arrived in full force.

Within an hour, nearly 10 centimeters of fresh snow covered Odori Park. Our team of three people representing Austria — Michelle Steinmetz, Daniel Nachbaur and I, all artists from the western towns of Feldkirch and Koblach — had to pivot quickly. The fine details we had carved, from strands of fur to the curve of a fox’s ear, were slowly disappearing beneath a relentless white veil.

Rather than refining the sculpture we had been laboring over for four days, we turned our attention to preservation. Brushes replaced chisels. Every few minutes, we cleared the surface again, knowing the snowfall would still ultimately prevail.