Pop Galo is a monumental public artwork inspired by one of the most iconic symbols of Portuguese popular culture: the Barcelos rooster. Acknowledging both its aesthetic value and its symbolic power, Joana Vasconcelos reinterprets the symbol through a contemporary lens, bringing together the tradition of Portuguese tilework (azulejos) and the latest LED technology. 

While honouring the aesthetic richness of this national symbol, the artist introduces four major transformations: she magnifies it to a monumental scale – 10 metres in height; she covers its surface with around 17,000 ceramic tiles – designed in her studio and produced and hand-painted at the century-old Viúva Lamego factory; and she integrates a striking interplay of sound and light, created in collaboration with composer Jonas Runa, through nearly 15,000 LED lights illuminating the artwork’s vibrant surfaces. This fusion endows the Barcelos rooster with new layers of meaning, allowing it to shift and transform between day and night. 

The extraordinary wealth of symbolic associations linked to the rooster across different countries and cultures lends this work a unique resonance, ensuring its capacity to connect with audiences on an international scale.

Watch the artwork videos: Pop Galo, 2016 [here], the opening and assembling at Ribeira das Naus [here], and the making-of [here].