Las Pozas, Mexico
Located more than 2,000 feet above sea level, in the subtropical rainforests in the Mexican mountains, lies Las Pozas, (the Pools). Named for its nine naturally fed but human-made pools that sit within.
What would you do if you could do anything you want? This garden is the answer to that question. Answered in 1962 by poet and artist Edward James. An eccentric Englishman with a large fortune and a deep-rooted love for the Surrealist movement. Once described by Salvador Dali as ‘crazier than all the Surrealists together’.
Edward dreamt of creating a surrealist Garden of Eden, a place to liberate the oppressive boundaries of rationalism. To free unconscious thinking, irrational logic and true human experience. A place that could merge fantasy and reality and sit in a dream-like realm. Over a period of 20 years, he would do just that.
Initially, Edward put his collecting to use creating extensive collections of plant, orchids and exotic animals to nest within the jungle. However, after the tough loss of many of plants in the unprecedented frost of 1962, he turned his gaze to a more permanent form of expression and began his love affair with concrete. A labyrinth of choreographed pathways wrap and weave their way through the jungle. Along the way, a series of concrete structures and sculptures punctuate the garden. Evoking both the imagination and the heart. Coexisting in perfect harmony yet contrasting at every turn, the language spoken between nature and concrete feels as though it was always meant to be, perfectly natural in every way. Flora and Fauna inspired sculptures, winding staircases to nowhere, whale roofs, cathedral inspired screens and gigantic forms stretching four stories tall are all part of the landscape. Devoured, protected, loved by their surroundings. Feelings of belonging, balance and tranquillity invite romanticised feelings of lost worlds and stories to be told.
(All thoughts and feelings of what it would be like to be there are imaginative only until the day I get to visit).