Joana Vasconcelos

Le Dauphin et La Dauphine, 2012, Bordalo Pinheiro faiences w. ceramic glaze, Azores crocheted lace, (2x) 84 x 125 x 140 cm

Mary Poppins, 2012, Handmade woollen knitting & crochet, industrial knitted fabric, fabrics, ornaments, polyester, steel cables

Perruque, 2012, vinhatico, ebony inlays, gold-plated brass, shellac, beeswax, artificial hair, iron, 298 x 124 cm, base ø 105 cm

Pavillion de Vin, 2011, wrought iron, vine plants, 550 x Ø 330 cm

Royal Valkyrie, handmade woollen crochet, industrial knitted fabric, fabrics, ornaments, polyester, steel cables, 625 x 600 x 893cm

Blue Champagne, 2012, Pommery POP Champagne bottles, metallized & thermo lacquered iron, ultra bright LEDs, electric system, (2x) 940 x Ø 496cm

Gardes [Guards], 2012,Port Laurent marble (Pakistan) lions and bases, Azores crocheted lace, (2x) 200 x 65 x 110 cm

Pavillon de Thé, 2012, wrought iron, jasmine plants, 359 x 509 x 345 cm

Marilyn (AP), 2011, stainless steel pans and lids, concrete

Lilicoptère, 2012,Bell 47 helicopter, ostrich feathers, Swarovski crystals, gold leaf, industrial coating, dyed leather upholstery embossed with fine gold, Arraiolos rugs, walnut wood, wood grain painting, passementerie, 300 x 274 x 1265 cm

Artist Statement

The Palace of Versailles is the place of art par excellence, where artists have always felt at home, displaying their work in it not as an exhibition space but as a setting totally imbued with art. It is a full, complete and rich place where it seems that nothing can be added. It is the ideal setting for celebrating audacity, experimentation and freedom, where creative talent is appreciated like in no other place.

My work has developed around the idea that the world is an opera, and Versailles embodies the operatic and aesthetic ideal that inspires me. The works that I propose exist for this place. I see them as linked to Versailles in a timeless way. When I stroll through the rooms of the Palace and its Gardens, I feel the energy of a setting that gravitates between reality and dreams, the everyday and magic, the festive and the tragic. I can still hear the echo of the footsteps of Marie-Antoinette, and the music and festive ambiance of the stately rooms. How would the life of Versailles look if this exuberant and grandiose universe was transferred to our period?

Interpreting the dense mythology of Versailles, transporting it into the contemporary world, and evoking the presence of the important female figures that have lived here, while drawing on my identity and my experience as a Portuguese woman born in France, will certainly be the most fascinating challenge of my career.