The term Wunderkammer is a generic term that originated in the early Middle Ages when wealthy individuals, dignitaries and royal houses in England, Germany, Italy, France and Austria added a special wing to their castles to display rarities and gifts. These were often unusual and bizarre objects from the arts and crafts and the early sciences and medicine.

In fact, these were the first expressions of what we now call ‘the museum’. The difference of course, was that these Wunderkammer were shown only to the upper-class visitors to the castles. These miniature private museums came about as a pastime and as a way to impress their guests.

The early Wunderkammer were ‘simply decorated’ parts of existing rooms in which the so-called Curiosity Cabinets were placed. As time passed, the phenomenon developed and the whole room (walls, floors, cabinets) was decorated entirely in style.

As the sciences developed more autonomously from the 19th century and distanced themselves from the visual professions, the Wunderkammer became more associated with extreme expressions of craftsmanship and the visual arts.

A present-day Wunderkammer is a total experience. As in a knitted fabric, all things in the Wunderkammer are connected with each other. Everything is about the experience. A different world, you are surprised when you walk inside. The architectural symmetry, the monumental Centerpiece, the endless detail, the extreme use of materials, graphics and dimensions: macro, micro.

The Swarovski museum is a labyrinth of styles and influences. Adding a new dimension to this labyrinth was an exciting challenge. We decided, as usual, to remain close to ourselves, because personality creates originality.

The starting point for the work was a classical-architectural approach, in which symmetry and grid are self-evident. The strict context actually gave me the freedom to shape my ideas with full expression.

Entering through a beautiful double door, you come into an expansive circular space nine meters across. You immediately see that the entire space is part of a total installation, and then see monumental paneling and large, round stained glass windows with daylight shining behind them, so it looks like the windows open onto an outdoor area. In a kaleidoscopic fashion, the stained glass portrays the views of a greatly enlarged diamond.

The surfaces in the classical panels are covered with specially designed wallpaper and the walls adorned with bronze lights that are both classical and contemporary in design. Everything is polychrome, lustrous and glistening. There is a surreal, monumental and colorful atmosphere.

In the middle is a huge, round Paper Table with polished bronze elements, and surrounding it is a wonderful cast railing with rope that keeps the proper distance between the viewer and the large sculpture that is placed centrally on the table.

This mega centerpiece portrays a large-scale mountain-and-train landscape, the object is composed entirely of bronze elements that are gilded silvered, hand-painted and polished. Jagged mountain peaks are dusted in light snow in the form of inlaid crystal and below is a castle inspired by the famous Neuschwanstein castle designed by the “Michael Jackson of the 19th century,” Ludwig II.

This magnificent art piece is also extremely varied and set apart by the use of materials and colour. In the mountains of this extreme sculpture, many activities and attractions can be seen, for example, there are train tracks that wind down over the rocks of the mountain and forest landscape. A bizarre steam locomotive that resembles the famous Flying Scotsman from the early 20th century rides over the rails. But the landscape also incorporates local houses, a Swarovski factory, castle Neuschwanstein, the Kremlin, the Big Ben, the Statue of Liberty, a statue of Napoleon, a statue of David, the Antwerp Central Station, a mine shaft, tunnels and bridges. The landscape is even adorned with a helicopter platform between the trees, where a Chinook helicopter has just landed, as if the president of the USA has come to visit.

“The piece as a whole is reminiscent of the life’s work of an eccentric model builder who, with angelic patience, has created an immense project in his attic. The remarkable difference is that this is the most extreme and expressive form of the phenomenon: a cottage craft that has taken on supernatural proportions. In that sense, this gold-plated, polished, painted, inlaid and magnificent landscape looks more like a masterpiece from the bizarre workshops of Johan Melchior Dinglinger, who furnished the Wunderkammer for Augustus II the Strong. To date, these works are still decisive for the history of the applied arts.”

– Job Smeets, Antwerp, May 2014