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Lilicoptère, 2012
Bell 47 helicopter, ostrich feathers, Swarovski crystals, gold leaf, industrial coating, dyed leather upholstery embossed with fine gold, Arraiolos rugs, walnut wood, wood grain painting, passementerie

300 x 274 x 1265 cm

Courtesy Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris/Brussels and Haunch of Venison, London

Work produced in collaboration with Fundação Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva, Lisbon

A gilded helicopter decorated with thousands of rhinestones, has the outer surface of its cockpit lined with an extravagant and colourful coat of ostrich feathers. At the front of the cabin, a featherless mouth-like gap reveals its sumptuous interior, exhibiting intricate woodworks, gildings and embroidered upholstery featuring Marie Antoinette's initials. Lilicoptère draws on the rich, glamorous and bold aesthetics of the royalty of the late Ancien Régime in order to suggest a metamorphosis from machine to animal; a return to the origin and to the inspiration that motivated the realization of man's dream of flying.

2013 Joana Vasconcelos, Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Lisbon


2012 Joana Vasconcelos Versailles, Château de Versailles, Versailles


CHOUGNET, Jean-François; Valter Hugo Mãe; LAMARCHE-VADEL, Rebecca - Joana Vasconcelos Versailles.: Paris: Skira Flammarion; Lisbon: Leya, 2012.


FERRY, Luc - L'Invention de la Vie de Bohème 1830-1900.Paris: Éditions Cercle d'Art, 2012.