This representation study critically engages with ai/midjourney as a method of understanding the evolution of the ice production/distribution and its history in the US North East. Inspired by the 1852 Ice King in Arlington MA and the contemporary ice distribution service Acme Ice, we explore representation techniques that question labor and tools in a changing world.

The 19th century ice farming business was indicative of an approach to resource/commodity and land that is no longer feasible for a sustainable future. The ice farmed in MA was shipped globally, as far as India. In a time prior to refrigeration, ice was stored in purpose-built structures and packed with sawdust to prevent melting. The midjourney generated images offer an uncanny time travel in representation, with kiosks appearing alongside horses on now melted ice sheets. This project looks to represent the kiosk and the distribution network of current Ice markers in MA to reveal the complexity of this commodities history.