Though we often hear complaints that modern architecture can't hold a candle to older buildings, few structures have as short a shelf-life as Alex Chinneck's latest creation. Following his Covent Garden-based levitating market building, the artist has returned with another architectural oddity. A pound of flesh for 50p is a full-size two-story home that's primarily built from wax, and is slowly melting away with stunning effect.
A pound of flesh for 50p was created for the Bankside Merge Festival, which is currently taking place in central London. The building is located, fittingly, on the site of an old candle factory and at first glance looks a lot like any other typical British brick residence.
Some 8,000 paraffin wax bricks were used in the build. Following 12 months of experimentation with various experts and collaborators, Chinneck cast the bricks in terra cotta sand to make them more closely resemble standard bricks.
The windows are also made from wax panes and are also melting away as the project progresses. Chinneck and his team are speeding up the melting process with handheld torches, which also enables them to manipulate the wax to produce the most striking effect possible.
The installation will be in place until November 18, by which time all that will remain is a roof sat atop a pile of melted wax. The video below offer some insight into its construction.
Sources: Alex Chinneck, Merge Festival
But "luxury arts" like this wax house are even worse. Just as there is no real sport in luxury sports, there is no real art in installations such as this. It is only a colossal waste of money and material.
Why is it even worse? First, because luxury sports waste is funded by bored wealthy individuals, but luxury arts waste is often funded out of the taxpayers' money; and second, because there is not even the excuse of record breaking involved (unless you are aiming at records in money wastage).
Here we have exhibit 'A'.
A football match and a hockey game, a good deal of rap/pop music, a big chunk of Hollywood and media output, or an art installation such as this:
They are all spectator events and visual. As an artist, I don't care that much for any. There are competitions like hunting, drag racing, fishing and horseback riding that I wouldn't consider as sport. Things like this are not what I would think of as artistic...
That's how it is. One's man treasure is another's trash. Whatever turns you crank, floats your boat, or pushes your buttons. It's a lot of baguettes for the spectators...
There is so much more greatness worthy of our attention out there than the fluff that's being fed to us.