In the last days of 2019 we finished the healing snake in the house of the dragon in Spain. The missing link in the construction between the second and first floor was, together with the final skin (trencadis), the last big task (how it started here…).

The snake contains a little bottle. It is a kind of postbox for wishes. Every visitor in CASAdelDRAGON who remember this secret feature can receive a message from an former visitor and (s)he could place another new message for the next.

Everybody who will pass this snake on the way to the Terrasse or living room will pass this special postbox. We will see how it will be used by the guests.

Most of the ceramic tails are collected of the last 35 years. The mix of colors and pieces represents also the creative history of ceramic mosaics in the house and around and on the color garden of our artist residence. Like a quotation to all this works some pieces also found their way to be part of the skin of this snake.

Also there are some blue ceramics from Penyflor, a donation from Cecile, running a permaculture garden near Tortosa. We see this as a reference to a lot of alternative living community projects and we like this link between these hotspots of new emerging community designs.

Another source of material was realised by left-overs form the family. Ceramics of broken cups and dishes where used as well, like a quotation to Gaudi and his advise to the bricklayers and construction workers to take their broken dishes to build some details of park Guell in Barcelona.

Between 50 and 200 guests are passing the CASAdelDRAGON per year (since 1987) and they all contributed in one or another way to the history of the place. For most of the visitors the place and its temporary inhabitants are a challenge, sometimes a provocation – not in an aggressive way but by questioning fundamentally personal decisions and values brave and strong.

As we know from feedback for most of the visitors it was a positive experience and more and more are returning after years to the place to revisit and to maintain the idea of another form of community life, based on donation without expectation.

The snake will be a silent but visible representation of these very private ways to personal happiness. And on the way, you could receive a message, if you find the secret mailbox.