The project was realised in co-operation with the University of Sunderland, National Glass Centre and Visiting Arts in London. Alena Matejkova is an Internationally known Czech artist, the winner of Competition of Arts Schools the Aperto Vetro in Venice, Italy 1996, Danish competition in Ebeltoft the Young Glass 1997, and the Award of the Czech Foundation of the Artists in 2000. In Sunderland she has created the biggest kiln piece ever cast in U.K. with support of the university staff and unique facilities.


"My project has been dormant in my head for a long time. Having traveled through the fairy tale landscapes of Great Britain, as if from the time immemorial sunk in the mist of the magical fog, I saw hundreds of menhirs and stones with carved ornaments. The ancient landscape and the raw gloominess of the gravestones excited me, and therefore I wanted to convey at least a part of that into my world. Into the world that contemporary man would understand. This idea has not faded away over the years, and so I drafted the project that was selected. I created Magic Carpets, which as the means of transportation from fairy tales float in the skies and connect the distant Middle Ages with modern technologies of the British present. The technical equipment available both at the University of Sunderland and National Glass Centre is fascinating indeed"

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