Just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland is an absolutely stunning contemporary sculpture garden – Jupiter Artland. The exhibits are set on over 100 acres of meadow and woodland, with 5 additional indoor gallery spaces. Founded in 2009 by philanthropist art collectors Robert and Nicky Wilson, Jupiter Artland has grown into one of Scotland’s most significant arts organisations.
In addition to various temporary installations, Jupiter Artland contains over 35 permanent exhibits. This past summer, a not-so-ordinary swimming pool was incorporated into one of the installations.
Introducing Gateway:
Gateway is an artwork integrated in a whimsical pool garden and is the result of a three-year collaboration between Jupiter Artland and the artist. The nine-metre, fully functioning swimming pool is surrounded by a yew hedge that frames the whole composition and is a natural limit to the artist´s intervention which draws inspiration from the leylines that are said to intersect at the 100 acres sculpture park. These leylines are believed by some to channel earthly energy, connecting sacred and spiritual sites across the world.
Of Gateway, artist Joana Vasconcelos states: ‘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. It’s like a threshold to another universe that we’re not conscious of but through which we can flow.’
Vasconcelos has incorporated patterns from her own astrological chart into the design of the artwork, which is made of 11,366 hand-painted and glazed tiles crafted using traditional methods at a 100-year-old factory in Vasconcelos’ native Portugal. Each tile is one of a kind and was developed by Viúva Lamego and Atelier Joana Vasconcelos and has no duplicates throughout the entire artwork. Like so much of Vasconcelos’ work, Gateway is collectively formed, and the final result is a vast communal labour and celebration of the intricacies and social-political associations of the act of craftsmanship.
Additonal images of Gateway:
To see more of this exhibit and other exhibits at Jupiter Artland please visit them at:
https://www.jupiterartland.org/
View our gallery.