Eleftherios Ambatzis: April 2008 Archives

Edward James, who was once the world's largest collector of Surrealist art, turned his back on the conventions of upper class English society, following his dream to build his own surrealist fantasy in the rainforests of central Mexico. Built next to a series of cascading waterfalls, Las Pozas derives its name from "the pools" on site. It is a fantasy-oriented sculpted garden out of concrete spreading across 80 acres, connected by meandering stone paths.

Built as a “Surreal Eden”, most structures are left unfinished. Between 1949 and 1984 thirty-six concrete follies - palaces, temples and pagodas, a house with a roof like a Whale, and the Staircase to Heaven. A whole system of ramps, bridges and narrow, winding walkways are connecting the buildings with each other and with the surrounding jungle. All of the sculptural forms within Las Pozas are constructed out of reinforced concrete.