Surrealistic Mexico: Edward James’ Great Garden of the World “Las Pozas”
“Let’s leave a mark but without stepping on anyone.”
— Edward James
After 6 months of exploration in Mexiko - under the desert heat, above paradisean seawater, and in the middle of a hurricane - I have learned many curious & magical things. Before I dive into the surreal world of Edward James, here are some bizarre facts that will stick forever:
The whale was once a four-footed land animal (similar to a fox).
In the 19th century, there was a prison in Mexiko operating without windows and doors. Only one person tried to escape but returned back after three days, almost dead. The prison was placed in the middle of the desert.
You can get bitten badly by a fish.
Nevertheless, there is always this one experience. The one that will change your perspective on life and on art forever. For me, it was Edward’s mystical garden whose construction would cost more than $5 million. To realize his dream, James had to sell his complete collection of Surrealist Art at auctions.
Edward James and The Surrealistic Garden:
Where the enchanting jungle and a creative mind come together.
Nestled in the mountains of northern Mexico, Edward found the perfect setting to create a supreme masterpiece. Among natural and artificial pools and waterfalls, you enter into a dream world that unfolds surrealistic labyrinths and hidden connections. Buildings that evoke fantasy, doors that open up to nothing, concrete flowers that grow along with natural ones, stairs that lead to the sky…
This incredible magical sculpture garden called “Las Pozas” (the pools) was created in the mid of 20th century by Edward James, a poet, and artist, also known as the great patron of the surrealist movement. Surrealism, put in the words of the guide while walking up the mystical stairs, “is the capability to imagine a table with legs of a horse!”. At that time, this kind of visual imagination was something very exceptional, “just like the invention of the photo camera a hundred years before!”. He had my attention.
The literary and artistic movement arose in Europe in 1918, where the world of dreams and unconsciousness would serve as fountains of inspiration and creation. Mexiko, apart from its attractive exotic culture, was and is the perfect spot to explore this; it will not be an issue to find and talk to someone about magic mushrooms and, although I didn’t try, I’m sure that the religious Peyote worked great for Edward James as a “fountain of inspiration”.
Anyways, I wanted to keep this blog post short and sweet: For me, this was one of the most enchanting experiences I have walked through in my life. Not only for what I saw in Edward’s Pozas but because his intellectual and creative mind stamped the world with his one-of-a-kind art.
If this brief introduction to Edward James’ Surrealistic Garden inspires you, don’t miss out to visit it in case you get the chance. If you don’t get the chance, just take the lesson I have learned from this: exceptional art is not just many fantastic & unique paintings, compositions, or books, but is seeing your own life as a masterpiece that you want to create and leave behind.
"The project will be finished by nature."
If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to watch my first music video; Defend the beauty of nature; feel alive with every action; have an impact on the world by being modest, benevolent, and frugal – values that are now more than ever needed to build a sustainable world.
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