ART MAKES A SPLASH
21 Oct 2019
Jupiter Artland, a contemporary sculpture garden located just outside Edinburgh, Scotland, is home to an artwork of intricate hand-painted tiles that doubles up as a swimming pool. Take a dip!
The artwork by artist Joana Vasconcelos is a nine-metre, fully functioning swimming pool that features an intricate arrangement of 11,366 hand-painted and glazed tiles that incorporates patterns from her own astrological chart. Guests are invited to bathe in Gateway and enjoy Jupiter Artland’s latest permanent commission from a new perspective. 
“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,” Vasconcelos said. “It’s like a threshold to another universe that we’re not conscious of but through which we can flow.”
Gateway is integrated into a whimsical pool garden at Jupiter Artland and is surrounded by a yew hedge that frames the composition of colourfully patterned tiles. Each of the one-of-a-kind tiles, developed by celebrated Portuguese tile producer Viúva Lamego and Atelier Joana Aasconcelos, has been crafted using traditional methods at a 100-year-old factory and has no duplicates throughout the entire artwork. 
The result of a three-year collaboration between Jupiter Artland and the artist, Gateway is collectively formed — like much of Vasconcelos’ multifaceted work. 
Via designboom | Images by Allan Pollok-Morris, courtesy of Jupiter Artland
