The Sculpture Garden of the Museo Sa Bassa Blanca in Alcúdia

Without the blessings of modern technology, it would likely be impossible to find this hidden gem. While there is a large signpost for the museum at the Port d’Alcúdia roundabout, the final five kilometers lead through a narrow, dusty lane riddled with potholes. The stone walls bordering the individual properties close in precariously; caution is advised, as scratches on a rental car are expensive. The route winds through the mountains of the La Victoria peninsula northeast of Alcúdia. A nervous glance at the navigation system confirms that you are still on the right track until, finally, you approach the sea again. The address “Es Mal Pas” (The Bad Path) is to be taken literally and is a piece of art in itself. 

After passing through the gates of Museo Sa Bassa Blanca, the strange encounters begin immediately. First, stone columns, then a Virgin Mother in a stone archway to the left. Statue of Mary are not uncommon along hiking trails in Catholic Southern Europe, but why is this one entirely azure blue? Further to the left, behind a hedge, one might think they spot a silver alien, which, upon closer inspection, turns out to be a giant octopus. Then there is a kind of stone cross reaching out in all directions, and a flashy Nissan pickup truck living its second life as a flower planter. By the time you see four red bicycles welded together at the rear frames, pointing toward the four cardinal directions, it becomes clear: this must be art. Or is it perhaps a comment on politics in Spain or Germany?

In fact, these sculptures are the first six of exactly one hundred pieces in the art garden of Museo Sa Bassa Blanca.

The museum was founded as a foundation in 1993 by the artist couple Yannick Vu and her husband Ben Jakober, along with Georges Coulon Karlweis; the grounds had already been acquired in 1978. Yannick Vu is a painter, sculptor, and designer of Vietnamese origin, born in France in 1942, who has resided in Mallorca since 1963. Ben Jakober is a Jewish-Hungarian sculptor born in Austria in 1930, who fled to England as a child to escape National Socialism and took British citizenship. Before his career as an artist, he could look back on a successful tenure as a banker at Rothschild, which presumably provided the necessary capital to create this paradise. In 1978, Vu and Jakober enlisted the renowned Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy to design the main house, which was built in the style of a Nubian palace.

The sculpture garden is particularly special because it lies far off the beaten tourist path, perhaps appealing to a more sophisticated audience than the package tourists for whom a holiday means nothing more than gorging, boozing, and sunburn. About 90% of the works were created by Vu and Jakober themselves, using granite, metal, sandstone, clay, and steel; mosaics can also be found. A significant portion of the sculptures depicts animals, mostly stylized. They invite visitors to touch their smooth surfaces; children enjoy climbing on a rhinoceros or a dromedary and interacting playfully with them. There are also gigantic spheres and cones made of stone and polished steel that function as funhouse mirrors.

Some works are tongue-in-cheek, such as a tombstone inscribed with “I’m still alive” and another at the end of the garden that logically reads “The End.” One might wonder if the figure of a dead tennis player is poking fun at the sports tourism that is both a blessing and a curse for Mallorca. The title of the work, “The Death of Marat,” offers no explanation and adds to the confusion. Land Art is also on display, including a stone spiral and a circle of rocks modeled after Stonehenge.

The artworks blend perfectly into the landscaped grounds. A grove of olive trees, an avenue lined with date palms, a brick tower overgrown with climbing plants, and a rose garden merge playfully into a single entity. Yoko Ono planted one of her Wish Trees here, where notes with wishes for hope for a better world can be hung.

The sculpture garden can be visited independently of the museum for a reasonable admission fee. The museum itself consists of the main house with contemporary art, the underground “Sala dels NINS” collection featuring historical portraits of noble children, and the Socrates Room with an ethnographic collection.