Neal Stephenson’s classic sci-fi novel Snow Crash, published in 1992, inspired the name for the exhibition in Milan in 1997. ‛I think we all realised that no one would ever remember our Finnish names, so it was better to just use one name. We were inspired by the title of the novel; it worked for us because we felt that what we were creating was somewhere in between two worlds – the tangible and real and the digital and unknown. The word “snow” also played with people’s image of the Nordic countries, and the word “crash” was a little bit like us, crashing the party in Milan.’  Ilkka Suppanen

To make the Snowcrash exhibition in 1997 a full experience, the group working on it, asked their friends at the Finnish record label Sähkö (electricity) Recordings for some ambient music to be played in the exhibition. Sähkö Recordings is an underground record label founded in 1993 by Tommi Grönlund and the musician Mika Vainio (1963-2017). Under the alias Ø, Mika Vainio composed a 34:16 minute sound that would connect the objects and enhance the ambience in the room – The Snowcrash Soundtrack.

An animation was created for the exhibition in Milan in 1997. Designer Timo Vierros made an animation with snowflakes that could be projected onto one of the white-painted gallery walls like a digital fresco. It was originally created with the Finnish 3D program Real3D. This animation was digitally restored and remastered by designer Marko Tandefelt in 2021.

Designed by Mikko Männistö in 1997 and used until the end in 2003. The logo is made in the font Franklin Gothic, Snow in regular and Crash in italics. A pattern of dots was made as a part of the logotype and used on print and other products.

The office was situated in an old industrial building in the area Hammarby in the south of Stockholm. The office was designed by Tham & Videgård Architects together with Ulrika Ljungberg at Snowcrash in 2001. Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

The office was situated in an old industrial building in the area Hammarby in the south of Stockholm. The office was designed by Tham & Videgård Architects together with Ulrika Ljungberg at Snowcrash in 2001. Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

The office was situated in an old industrial building in the area Hammarby in the south of Stockholm. The office was designed by Tham & Videgård Architects together with Ulrika Ljungberg at Snowcrash in 2001. Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

The office was situated in an old industrial building in the area Hammarby in the south of Stockholm. The office was designed by Tham & Videgård Architects together with Ulrika Ljungberg at Snowcrash in 2001. Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

The office was situated in an old industrial building in the area Hammarby in the south of Stockholm. The office was designed by Tham & Videgård Architects together with Ulrika Ljungberg at Snowcrash in 2001. Photo: Åke E:son Lindman