The melting house by Alex Chinneck

The only thing that is constant is change - and the latest installation by Alex Chinneck is probably one of the most spectacular illustrations of this famous saying by Heraclitus. Constructed from 80,000 wax bricks the full-size two story wax house is manually melted away over 30 days until is reduced to the pile of oddly shaped pile of wax. It's a brilliant installation that works on many levels and could be interpreted in infinite number of ways, depending on who looks at it. The choice of location for the installation is probably not random. There once stood a candle factory. For the artist Alex Chinnick it's an exploration of how same material can be transformed and take on a new meaning. I find it symbolic of the shrinking hope of ordinary Londoners to ever afford their own house. Or is it perhaps the representation of the art itself, that transforms mundane object of the everyday life into something surreal. Whichever way you choose to look at it is an amazing sight. I really hope they are going to make a time-laps video of the 30 day it takes to melt the house. So do go and check out the installation while it lasts. You can find it at 40 Southwark St., post code: SE1 9HP. It's on until November the 18th.

Image source: mergefestival.co.uk

Image source: mergefestival.co.uk

Alex Chinneck, Image source: mergefestival.co.uk