Artist Wim Delvoye has proven that he is the master of transforming disused machinery and tires into gorgeous works of art. But the artist also has a sinister side, as this his Chapel series illustrates rather well. These gorgeous (if gruesome) windows are installed in an intricate chapel made from laser cut steel in the style of a 17th century Flemish Baroque church.
Delvoye has made over the jewel-toned saints normally depicted in stained glass. One of his creepy creations shows two skeletons in a passionate embrace, hugging and kissing in panels that make up an arched gothic window, with jeweled stained glass diamonds connecting the panels. Other pieces are more abstract: Swirls of spinal columns intersect rows and rows of x-rayed teeth, set against blood red glass. Skulls, spines, and hips intermingle with bold stained glass hues, unified together to make up giant windows.
The translucent x-rays illuminate just as colored glass does, creating a dazzling-yet-morbid display. Using traditional Medieval craftsmanship, these macabre windows create a truly spooky atmosphere. Delvoye is no stranger to the grim and ghastly, as he also dabbled in the macabre with his series called “Art Farm,” where he tattooed pig skins that were discarded by slaughterhouses in the United States.
+ Wim Delvoye
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This building may look like a standard Gothic cathedral at first glance, but if you take a closer look, you’ll be amazed. Thousands of x-rays have been applied to the structure’s windows using traditional stained glass-making techniques to create a of
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At first glance, one doesn’t see anything extraordinary in the beautifully intricate Gothic Chapel used in the project.
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Delvoye has made over the jewel tones saints normally depicted in stained glass. One of his creepy creations shows two skeletons in embrace, hugging and kissing in panels that make up an arched gothic window. Jeweled stained glass diamonds connect the
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But upon closer inspection, the prismatic colors in each window pane are actually body parts, bones and full skeletons. The gorgeous windows, installed in an intricate chapel made from laser cut steel in the style of a seventeenth century Flemish
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Other pieces are more abstract. Swirls of spinal columns intersect rows and rows of x-rays of teeth, set against blood red glass. Skulls, spines and hips intermingle with bold colors of stained glass, unified together to make up giant windows.
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The translucent x-rays illuminate just as the colored glass does, creating a dazzling, yet morbid display. Using traditional Medeival craftsmanship, Delvoye’s Macabre windows create a truly spooky atmosphere.
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Delvoye is no stranger to the morbid, also dabbling in the macabre with his series called “Art Farm,” where here tattoos pig skins discarded from slaughterhouses in the United States.
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