A swimming pool as art? Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos has gravitated toward ‘fairground art’ in her rise to fame since the 2005 Venice Biennale where she made headlines with her 20 foot high chandelier composed of 25,000 tampons.
Now heading a celebrated atelier in Lisbon with 60 artisans, she has helped revive traditional local crafts.
The pool, Gateway, is a vibrant mosaic of 11,366 hand painted and glazed tiles from a 100-year old Portuguese factory. Gateway was commissioned for the Jupiter Artland sculpture park created by philanthropist art collectors Robert and Nicky Wilson. The 100-acre park is reputed to contain leylines connecting ancient sacred and spiritual sites. “Gateway is a big splash that invites the public to immerse in a joyful and spirited dimension, leading to a connection with the energy of the Earth,” says Ms Vasconscelos. The pool, a permanent commission, was briefly open to the public for swimming during the August Edinburgh festival but has now reverted to a permanent exhibit that brings the vibrant colours of Portugal to Scotland.
Until September 29th at Jupiter Artland, Near Wilkieston, Edinburgh, Scotland
