Main content

Joana Vasconcelos: Mask out of mirrors

Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos goes through the process of designing a Venetian mask made from mirrors and explains how the piece is designed and assembled.

The Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos is renowned for her large scale sculptural pieces which have featured in galleries across the world.She has used materials such as fabric, plastic and even tampons to construct her works.

In June 2018 her new exhibition called I’m Your Mirror opened at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. For this Joana made a series of new sculptures, including an enormous Venetian-style mask, made of overlapping mirrors. After being shown in Bilbao, the mask is now on display at the Museu de Serralves in Porto, Portugal with another version of it also on show in Venice at the Kempinski on San Clemente Island.

The construction of the huge mask was a process full of challenges as the enormous structure took shape in Joana’s Lisbon studio. In this programme Anna McNamee follows Joana through the process of working with the mirrors and explores how the piece is designed, shaped and packed up ready to begin its journey to Bilbao.

Producer: by Emma Kingsley and Anna McNamee

(Photo: Joana Vasconcelos. Credit: Kenton Thatcher/© Unidade Infinita Projectos)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sat 15 Jun 201917:32GMT
BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

More episodes

Previous

Peter Kimani – bringing the world to Kenya

Next

Ann Goldstein: The art of the translator

See all episodes from In the Studio

Clip

The Mirror Frames

The Mirror Frames

Hundreds of these will be used to make the giant sculpture of the Venetian mask.

(Image credit: Luís Vasconcelos/Courtesy Unidade Infinita Projectos)

Joana’s work is underway

Joana’s work is underway

The frames are being joined together in the studio to make the huge mask.

(Image credit: Luís Vasconcelos/Courtesy Unidade Infinita Projectos)

Joana Vasconcelos with members of her team

Joana Vasconcelos with members of her team

Joana and her team examine how work is going so far.

The Vision

The Vision

The outline of the giant mask is taking shape in the studio. The frames are ready for the mirrors to be fitted.

(Image credit: Luís Vasconcelos/Courtesy Unidade Infinita Projectos)

The Final Work

The Final Work

The completed work on display at the Guggenheim Bilbao.

(Image Credit: Joana Vasconcelos, I am Your Mirror, 2018, Courtesy Guggenheim Bilbao)

Broadcasts

  • Tue 26 Jun 201802:32GMT
    BBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa only
  • Tue 26 Jun 201803:32GMT
    BBC World Service South Asia & East Asia only
  • Tue 26 Jun 201804:32GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia
  • Tue 26 Jun 201810:32GMT
    BBC World Service except News Internet & West and Central Africa
  • Tue 26 Jun 201821:32GMT
    BBC World Service except News Internet
  • Tue 11 Jun 201902:32GMT
    BBC World Service Online, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa only
  • Tue 11 Jun 201903:32GMT
    BBC World Service UK DAB/Freeview
  • Tue 11 Jun 201904:32GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
  • Tue 11 Jun 201910:32GMT
    BBC World Service except West and Central Africa
  • Tue 11 Jun 201917:32GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia
  • Tue 11 Jun 201921:32GMT
    BBC World Service except Europe and the Middle East
  • Tue 11 Jun 201922:32GMT
    BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
  • Sat 15 Jun 201917:32GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa