Living
among giants
Lost Ukiyo grew out of years of living among Icelandic glaciers, watching them shift, settle, and slowly retreat. Each piece is created directly on the ice, using glacier meltwater and non-toxic ink made from vegetable soot.
The process follows the ancient Japanese art of suminagashi, where ink drifts freely on water before settling into its final form. It is never the same twice, and it is gone the moment it touches paper.
The name comes from the Japanese word Ukiyo, meaning "floating world." It reflects the fragile and elusive nature of these prints, alive for a moment yet rooted in the shifting reality of the glaciers.
Art that documents a vanishing world
The primary goal of this project is to document what is happening to glaciers, making art in nature, as it happens, not after the fact. Nothing in this process can be repeated. Each print holds its own quiet story, shaped by wind, water, and time on the day it was made.
Each artwork is a record of the ice as it is now: what once was, what still exists, and what may vanish. Every piece is tagged with the coordinates of where it was made, so the person who holds it can find that exact location and see it for themselves.
The project began in Iceland, but the goal is to continue this work at glaciers in other countries, building a wider record, place by place, as the landscape shifts everywhere it exists.
A percentage of all income currently goes to Stripe Climate. The long-term goal is for Lost Ukiyo to become a member of 1% for the Planet, supporting a broader network of environmental organizations.
The studio
is outside
For years, I've worked as a glacier guide in Öræfi, on Iceland's southeast coast, out on the ice, watching it move and change with every season. The rest of the time, I work in visual art: photography, design, and increasingly abstract techniques that don't start with a fixed idea of what the result should be.
Suminagashi fits naturally into that. It's slow, it can't be controlled, and it forces you to pay attention to the water, the wind, the temperature, the time of day. Working this way is partly an experiment and partly a way of slowing down enough to actually understand the place I'm standing in.
There's no studio in the traditional sense. Work happens only when the weather allows it, which can mean waiting days for the right conditions. It's slow art and it asks for patience. Every visit to the glacier is its own.
Damian Aleksy Grela
Founder of Lost Ukiyo
Breiðamerkurjökull Collection
DESCRIPTION
This artwork was created directly on the surface of Breiðamerkurjökull in Iceland, using glacier meltwater and natural ink made from vegetable soot. The print captures a brief moment when ink and water met on the ice, shaped by hand, wind, and time.
Each piece is one of a kind. Small imperfections remain as part of its origin, carrying the quiet traces of the glacier itself.
Breiðamerkurjökull is a wide outlet glacier of Vatnajökull. Its retreat led to the formation of the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, one of Iceland’s most well known glacial landscapes.
This artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Created at Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, Iceland, 2025.
MATERIALS
Paper: 300 gsm, 100% cotton paper
Ink: non-toxic vegetable soot
Water: meltwater collected on site
Technique: traditional Japanese suminagashi, adapted for glacier conditions
Frame is not included
SIZE
13.5 × 29.5 cm
SHIPPING INFORMATION
I live in a remote part of Iceland, so shipping is slow and depends on conditions.
DESCRIPTION
This artwork was created directly on the surface of Breiðamerkurjökull in Iceland, using glacier meltwater and natural ink made from vegetable soot. The print captures a brief moment when ink and water met on the ice, shaped by hand, wind, and time.
Each piece is one of a kind. Small imperfections remain as part of its origin, carrying the quiet traces of the glacier itself.
Breiðamerkurjökull is a wide outlet glacier of Vatnajökull. Its retreat led to the formation of the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, one of Iceland’s most well known glacial landscapes.
This artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Created at Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, Iceland, 2025.
MATERIALS
Paper: 300 gsm, 100% cotton paper
Ink: non-toxic vegetable soot
Water: meltwater collected on site
Technique: traditional Japanese suminagashi, adapted for glacier conditions
Frame is not included
SIZE
21 × 29.5 cm
SHIPPING INFORMATION
I live in a remote part of Iceland, so shipping is slow and depends on conditions.
DESCRIPTION
This artwork was created directly on the surface of Breiðamerkurjökull in Iceland, using glacier meltwater and natural ink made from vegetable soot. The print captures a brief moment when ink and water met on the ice, shaped by hand, wind, and time.
Each piece is one of a kind. Small imperfections remain as part of its origin, carrying the quiet traces of the glacier itself.
Breiðamerkurjökull is a wide outlet glacier of Vatnajökull. Its retreat led to the formation of the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, one of Iceland’s most well known glacial landscapes.
This artwork comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Created at Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, Iceland, 2025.
MATERIALS
Paper: 300 gsm, 100% cotton paper
Ink: non-toxic vegetable soot
Water: meltwater collected on site
Technique: traditional Japanese suminagashi, adapted for glacier conditions
Frame is not included
SIZE
13.5 × 29.5 cm
SHIPPING INFORMATION
I live in a remote part of Iceland, so shipping is slow and depends on conditions.
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