Мастерская мозаики artworker
Mosaic panel
"Turtle and Dragon"
An art panel made of glass tiles for the Vietnamese cuisine cafe "BO Cafe" at the Bratislava market.
1
The origin of the idea and the beginning of implementation
In October 2018, a customer approached us with an interesting project. The idea was to make a mosaic panel of glass tiles based on the Hanoi wall in Vietnam (the most famous fragment of it is the turtle and the dragon) and decorate the wall with it in the projected cafe Bổ at the Bratislava Market in Moscow. The idea of implementing such a project was extremely pleasant to us and we set to work with inspiration.
A little history of the original mosaic.
A four-kilometer masterpiece.
A continuous concrete wall about a meter high stretches along the street for four kilometers, which was originally built to be a protective dam in case of flooding. Every inch of this wall is covered with an amazing bright mosaic that tells almost the entire history of Hanoi and Vietnam in amazing colorful images. Here you can see a variety of stories, ranging from legends about the origin of the Vietnamese people to everyday scenes of everyday life. In October 2010, this wall with an area of 6,950 square meters was even listed in the legendary Guinness Book of Records as the longest wall in the whole world decorated with ceramic mosaics.
History of creation.
The idea of an unusual mosaic wall project originated with the Vietnamese artist Nguyen Thu Thuy in 2003 during archaeological excavations. It was then that the ancient ceramics of the Li dynasty were discovered, which did not leave the woman indifferent. Nguyen Thu Thuy decided that the Giant Ceramic Mosaic would be a great reminder of the history of Vietnam. The artist's project was awarded a special prize in the architecture competition for the transformation of the Hanoi dam system. The mosaic began to be assembled in 2007 and planned to finish its creation by the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi in 2010. However, even today, authors and artists from different countries are constantly working near the wall, adding, changing and remaking something. Both Vietnamese youth and professional "creators" from different countries, including Russia, took part in the creation of this masterpiece. In general, about a hundred artists from all over the world worked on the project.
The legend that is depicted on the mosaic:
The Vietnamese have a legend about a huge Golden Turtle that helped the ruler of Vietnam (Emperor Le Loi, Le Loi) in the XV century to win a battle against Chinese rule (the Dragon on the mosaic represents China) and not to enslave his people. This legend tells that the Vietnamese army could not win over the countless hordes of the enemy. And before the next military campaign, the ruler of Vietnam, in thought, swam in a boat in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake (Vietn. Hồ Hoàn KiếM, hы hoàn kiếm, ho hoan kiem), also "lake of the returned sword"), reflecting on how to help his people defeat the enemy and save his country from enslavement. The ruler's thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a huge Golden Turtle that surfaced from the depths of the lake right next to his boat. In the mouth of the Golden Turtle was a sword, which she handed to the surprised ruler with the words that this sword grants invincibility to its owner. The turtle told the truth: the enemy was defeated. And the Turtle asked to return her sword, saying that Vietnam was no longer in danger. "You, Le Loi, have been sent a sword to defeat the enemy. Your duty is done, you have won. This sword is terrible only to invaders, and now give it back to me." The sword described a semicircle over the water, the turtle grabbed it in its mouth and plunged into the water. And although the Turtle was mistaken, and the Vietnamese people had to fight more than once, but the power of the magic sword always accompanied the ruler of Vietnam and his army. The lake also became part of the legend and acquired the name Hoan Kiem – the Lake of the Returned Sword.
But the surprise was that the legend of the Golden Turtle made itself felt already in the XX century. In 1960, indeed, a huge turtle rose from the depths of the legendary lake, the diameter of which was much more than a meter. After this incident, it was said for a long time in Hanoi that the legend of the Golden Turtle and the Sword was not a fiction at all. And the body of the turtle that rose from the lake was embalmed and left for storage in the monastery, which is located on an island in the very middle of the ancient Hoan Kiem Lake.
The text is copied from open sources.
A continuous concrete wall about a meter high stretches along the street for four kilometers, which was originally built to be a protective dam in case of flooding. Every inch of this wall is covered with an amazing bright mosaic that tells almost the entire history of Hanoi and Vietnam in amazing colorful images. Here you can see a variety of stories, ranging from legends about the origin of the Vietnamese people to everyday scenes of everyday life. In October 2010, this wall with an area of 6,950 square meters was even listed in the legendary Guinness Book of Records as the longest wall in the whole world decorated with ceramic mosaics.
History of creation.
The idea of an unusual mosaic wall project originated with the Vietnamese artist Nguyen Thu Thuy in 2003 during archaeological excavations. It was then that the ancient ceramics of the Li dynasty were discovered, which did not leave the woman indifferent. Nguyen Thu Thuy decided that the Giant Ceramic Mosaic would be a great reminder of the history of Vietnam. The artist's project was awarded a special prize in the architecture competition for the transformation of the Hanoi dam system. The mosaic began to be assembled in 2007 and planned to finish its creation by the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi in 2010. However, even today, authors and artists from different countries are constantly working near the wall, adding, changing and remaking something. Both Vietnamese youth and professional "creators" from different countries, including Russia, took part in the creation of this masterpiece. In general, about a hundred artists from all over the world worked on the project.
The legend that is depicted on the mosaic:
The Vietnamese have a legend about a huge Golden Turtle that helped the ruler of Vietnam (Emperor Le Loi, Le Loi) in the XV century to win a battle against Chinese rule (the Dragon on the mosaic represents China) and not to enslave his people. This legend tells that the Vietnamese army could not win over the countless hordes of the enemy. And before the next military campaign, the ruler of Vietnam, in thought, swam in a boat in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake (Vietn. Hồ Hoàn KiếM, hы hoàn kiếm, ho hoan kiem), also "lake of the returned sword"), reflecting on how to help his people defeat the enemy and save his country from enslavement. The ruler's thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a huge Golden Turtle that surfaced from the depths of the lake right next to his boat. In the mouth of the Golden Turtle was a sword, which she handed to the surprised ruler with the words that this sword grants invincibility to its owner. The turtle told the truth: the enemy was defeated. And the Turtle asked to return her sword, saying that Vietnam was no longer in danger. "You, Le Loi, have been sent a sword to defeat the enemy. Your duty is done, you have won. This sword is terrible only to invaders, and now give it back to me." The sword described a semicircle over the water, the turtle grabbed it in its mouth and plunged into the water. And although the Turtle was mistaken, and the Vietnamese people had to fight more than once, but the power of the magic sword always accompanied the ruler of Vietnam and his army. The lake also became part of the legend and acquired the name Hoan Kiem – the Lake of the Returned Sword.
But the surprise was that the legend of the Golden Turtle made itself felt already in the XX century. In 1960, indeed, a huge turtle rose from the depths of the legendary lake, the diameter of which was much more than a meter. After this incident, it was said for a long time in Hanoi that the legend of the Golden Turtle and the Sword was not a fiction at all. And the body of the turtle that rose from the lake was embalmed and left for storage in the monastery, which is located on an island in the very middle of the ancient Hoan Kiem Lake.
The text is copied from open sources.
Technical data
Mosaic panel "Turtle and Dragon".
A few numbers.
A few numbers.
4.85 m2
The area of the mosaic panel (size 120x404 cm).
28 days
The assembly period of the mosaic panel.
3 artists
We worked on the assembly and installation of the mosaic.
More than 13,000
Glass tiles of which the panel consists.
"This is a very unusual idea - to decorate the interior of the cafe with a mosaic panel. We were very inspired by this idea!"
Tatyana
One of the mosaic artists who worked on the project.
The original work based on which our panel was made.
2
Workflow
Initially, a small fragment was assembled for approval with the customer. The sample, as in the subsequent all panels, was assembled by a reverse set on a special adhesive film for installation.
For the sample and further work, glass mosaic tiles of suitable colors, with a module size of 20x20 mm, were used.
For the sample and further work, glass mosaic tiles of suitable colors, with a module size of 20x20 mm, were used.
"The main task was to achieve the realization of an artistic and lively work. We tried to give each character its own character and mood."
Irina
One of the mosaic artists who worked on the project.
3
Completion of work and installation
After the end of the panel collection, we were waiting for another large-scale work - this is the installation of mosaics on special fasteners. The customer asked to come up with a design that would allow in the future, if necessary, to move the mosaic from one place to another. This task was solved with the help of an additional design, invisible from the front side, which allows moving the panel after installation on the wall.
Finally, after the collection and installation, the mosaic panel took its rightful place in the cozy interior of Bổ!