“Thaw” was an exploration of presence and permanence. It was an attempt to comprehend what it meant to completely inhabit my own body as well as the surrounding landscape—ultimately asking the question: “How do I leave my mark on the world?” Over eight days, I imprinted my body into a snow-covered pool of ice which lay at the base of an overturned birch tree. Each day I lay in the same spot for a period of five to fifteen minutes, depending on the severity of below-freezing temperatures and how quickly I lost feeling. Relying only on body heat, I melted the snow and ice beneath me while constantly changing positions and enduring the discomforts of going numb. By the last day, I had melted through six inches of snow and created a significant impression of my torso in the ice beneath—essentially re-inhabiting the space once occupied by the fallen tree.