This House of Wax is not from the classic horror movie “House of Wax” but, if you’re in London this year, you can see this house entirely made from 8,000 wax bricks. This house is an amazing installation by artist and designer Alex Chinneck, which is currently on display in London’s Covent Garden.
Called “A pound of flesh for 50p”, it honors the history of an old candle factory which used to stand near the sculpture’s location in London’s district of Bankside.
The house will be melted manually with handheld heating apparatus commonly used in roofing applications. This method provides control over the artwork’s appearance, duration and changing figure, inspired by the classic process of sculpting material to shape form in a contemporary and unique way. The bricks will be cast in paraffin wax in beds of terracotta sand. This method makes each unique but collectively they mimic the colour, coarse surface and irregularity of a real wall. For the last twelve months the artist has collaborated with chemists, wax manufacturers and engineers to develop visually convincing wax bricks that transform in the most sculpturally effective way.
