More commonly referred to as the Melting House, Chinneck’s latest work is actually a life-sized recreation of an old candle making factory. Using paraffin wax bricks, the artist recreated the two-story structure by mirroring the exact dimensions of the original candle factory that was based in Bankside centuries ago.
Related: Alex Chinneck’s Miner on the Moon Looks Like a Building Flipped on its Head in London
To build the replica, Chinneck used 8,000 paraffin wax bricks to construct the two-story structure. To obtain the recognizable rust color and coarse texture of actual bricks, the artist cast the paraffin wax bricks in beds of terracotta sand.
The house will be on display as part of the arts festival until November 18, 2014. As the days go by, however, Chinneckwill use a handheld heating device to heat the bricks of the home, melting the wax according to the artist’s vision. Eventually, the “brick” walls will be slowly, yet artfully transformed into a red waxy heap until the only thing left is the roof resting on top.
+ Alex Chinneck
+ Bankside Merge Festival
Photos by Tommophoto
