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For the last five years, celebrated Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos has been cooking up a 12m-high sculptural pavilion in the British countryside. Her three-tiered Wedding Cake is a Rothschild Foundation commission for the Waddesdon estate (a French Renaissance-style château owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation). Completed in all its splendour, it is now ready to unveil to the public. A ‘temple of love’, as the artist calls it.
Part sculpture, and part architectural garden folly, Wedding Cake is an extraordinary, gigantic, fully immersive sculpture that fuses pâtisserie, design and architecture. Picture this: a tiled cake shimmering with glazed icing-like pale pinks, greens and blues from inside and out. Then beset with sculptural ornaments plus the sounds of trickling water, and a site-specific lighting scheme. Mouth watering yet? All that fabulous profusion that Vasconcelos adores, and so it lovingly became her ‘impossible project’.
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake, exterior
And this undertaking is emblematic of Vasconcelos’ practice. Her materials reflect the multitude of international influences on Portuguese culture over centuries – born from a history of exploring and seafaring, from Chinese and Japanese ceramics and Brazilian carnival, incorporating colour and light. In fact, for this project, the ceramics were made by the Viúva Lamego manufactory, which has been operating in Sintra, Portugal, for over 170 years.
But besides that wink-wink sumptuousness of Vasconcelos’ work, there is also a nod to the sagacious – the notions of what we see as domesticity, femininity, and empowerment. Plus a definitive nod at the arts and crafts of yore. Delicious.
‘An enormous project such as this one could only happen with the vision and encouragement provided by a generous and extraordinary patron such as Lord Rothschild,’ shares Vasconcelos. ‘I have been addressing the subject of love throughout my career for almost 30 years now, but this is my biggest challenge so far. I wanted people to have three different approaches to it: looking from the outside, enjoying the surroundings from the different levels or balconies and rising to the top, finally completing the artwork with their presence.’
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake
At Waddesdon, a worthwhile cultural landmark rooted in artistic creativity, Wedding Cake will stand in a grove of trees alongside the 19th-century dairy, built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (the creator of Waddesdon) to entertain and charm guests at his famous house parties. Lord Rothschild adds, ‘The vision, imagination and ambition exemplified in the Wedding Cake is a perfect match for the passion which drove Baron Ferdinand to build the manor and the dairy, where he intended that his many friends would be surprised and delighted at every turn.’
And amazed and thrilled everyone is. ‘Waddesdon was built to entertain, so what better way to mark the continuity today of that spirit of hospitality, artistic creativity and Rothschild family patronage than through the commission of this magical object, an emblem of love and celebration,’ adds Pippa Shirley, director of Waddesdon. ‘Projects like this require a leap of faith from both artist and patron.’
JOANA VASCONCELOS 'RECIPE' FOR WEDDING CAKE
- 1 creative artist
- 1 visionary patron
- 2 international teams
- Pinch of experts
- 3,500 wrought iron parts
- 21,815kg iron sheet
- Circa 25,150 Viúva Lamego ceramic tiles (99 different types)
- 1,238 Viúva Lamego ceramic pieces (52 different types)
- Ceramic tile area: 365 sq m
- Plethora of ornaments – mermaids, dolphins, candles,
globes, etc.
- Indoor and outdoor lights – 350 glass flames receiving optical fibre (circa 3.000 metres)
- 592 light points
- Rivers of glaze
- Sprinklings of water
- Hope, belief and effort
- Blend the circa 50 tonnes with generous amounts of creativity and patience. Bind into different panels; raise tier by tier to a height of 12 metres. Assemble at Waddesdon.
- Serve with love.
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake
The history of the wedding cake is long and varied, full of symbolism and tradition. From Ancient Rome, where bread was broken over the bride’s head to bring good fortune to the couple, to contemporary confections that embody celebration and social status. Vasconcelos’ Wedding Cake is a playful addition to this rich history.
Inspired by the exuberant Baroque buildings and highly decorative ceramic traditions of Lisbon – where Vasconcelos lives and works – the artwork is also a contemporary response to the great Rothschild traditions of hospitality with echoes of 18th-century garden pavilions.
It reminds us of the long European history of placing fanciful buildings in gardens and landscapes and forms part of a growing collection of significant contemporary and historic sculptures, brought together by Lord Rothschild. Today, the Dairy is still a much sought-after entertaining space, and the presence of the Wedding Cake, a symbol of love and happiness, is a perfect complement.
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake, interior
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake, exterior
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake
Joana Vasconcelos, Wedding Cake is at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, from 18 June, tours are available to 26 October. waddesdon.org.uk
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Lifestyle — Comemos biscoitos e scones dentro de um bolo de casamento
Qualquer desvio na rota originalmente traçada é motivo para curiosidade extra, pelos melhores ou piores motivos. São detalhes desta natureza que quase sempre assistem a deslocação em trabalho de um jornalista — para mais quando viaja para o estrangeiro — e (admita-se) que dão boas newsletters para partilhar consigo. Mas no caso da Maria Salgueiro o itinerário que lhe foi facultado esta semana foi respeitado de tal forma ao minuto que nada havia a relatar. “A pontualidade britânica foi 100% honrada”, contou-nos após o regresso a Portugal, e de um programa que incluía alíneas como “apanhar o autocarro às 10h03”. Assim foi. |
Esta terça-feira de manhã, a Maria partiu da estação de comboio de Marylebone rumo a Aylesbury, no british countrysidea noroeste de Londres. Durante cerca de uma hora, a paisagem que avistou das janelas foi sempre de um verde viçoso. “Tem chovido bastante, por isso está especialmente exuberante”, explicou Madeleine Mann, da agência de comunicação britânica Sutton. Só falta a hora do chá — mais um delicioso cliché — para o cenário ficar completo. Na verdade, explica a Maria, o momento “aplicou-se ao longo de todo o dia”. Foi servido logo à chegada e antes do almoço; esteve à espera de ser bebido à mesa e circulou em cima de bandejas. Não faltaram também croissants e bolinhos. “Até comemos biscoitos e scones dentro do próprio bolo!” |
Da montra da pastelaria para uma criação com quatro pisos e uma cobertura muito especial: o convite para ir conhecer “a primeira obra impossível” de Joana Vasconcelos guiou os jornalistas à propriedade da Waddesdon Manor, mansão construída pelo Barão Ferdinand de Rotchschild em 1874, ao estilo de um château francês de inícios do século XVI. Os visitantes puderam passear livremente pelo interior deste edifício, conhecido pelas grandes festas oferecidas pelos anfitriões, desenhado para entreter convidados e expor uma vasta coleção de arte, entre retratos ingleses, mobiliário francês do século XVIII, porcelanas Sèvres e até uma escrivaninha que pertenceu a Maria Antonieta. Mas neste dia, e durante os meses que se seguem, o principal atrativo é o monumental “Wedding Cake”, forrado com 26 mil azulejos Viúva Lamego. |
Ponto por ponto, a Maria descreve a receita usada pela artista portuguesa, que cinco anos depois apresenta este instagramável “templo ao amor”, para saborear a partir de dia 18 de junho — e quem sabe também dizer o “sim”. |
Até para a semana. |
