As Joana Vasconcelos’ Valkyrie Octopus takes flight for Macau, MGM MACAU eagerly anticipates the arrival of this monumental installation for the first time in China.
Posted 27 February 2015
Share this:
|
Created in modules in her 3,000 square metre studio space in the Port of Lisbon, the Valkyrie Octopus is of such epic proportions that it had to be taken to an aircraft hangar sized space for testing.
Measuring 35 metres in length, 20 metres in height, and weighing 1,200 kilos, it is the artist’s largest piece to date. The work is made from more than 4,000 metres of boldly coloured and patterned fabric, embellished with thousands of beads and LED lights placed in a patchwork of patterns, shapes and textures, fed by 3,100 metres of electric cable. The richness of detail in the piece results from Vasconcelos’ practice of using artisanal techniques to appropriate textiles and ornaments of different origins.
To realise this gargantuan project Joana Vasconcelos worked with a team of over 50 skilled professionals working across several departments including architecture, engineering, sewing, crochet and metalwork.
Divided into departments, each part of the atelier handles a specific part of the production. Starting as a blue sky vision on the artist's drawing board, a team of 8 in-house architects then bring her sketches to life by mocking up designs in 3D to ensure the artist's dreamlike visions can be physically realised. The sewing and fabrics rooms bustle with enormous swathes of fabric being passed through sewing machines whilst minute beads are attached with painstaking detail. Working on the traditional Portuguese crochet elements, several generations preserve the craft for the future.
