Z33

American artist Mark Dion breathes new life into a symbolic place: Herbricht. His ‘Tree of Life’ is like a journey through the past, present and future of the Meuse Valley. The power of nature is at the heart of his artwork.

The Swiss Atelier Amont designed Canal Pavilion, a pleasant meeting spot where you can relax or have a picnic. The expressive roof-shaped wooden structure, surrounded by curtains, was built in the Quartier Canal in Hasselt in 2014. You can now find it in the green environment of the Bethany Campus Hasselt.

The Belgian artist Rinus Van de Velde is creating a Night Watch 2.0. This monumental charcoal drawing was inspired by the genre of group portraits from the 16^th and 17^th century. He is bringing this tradition to Hasselt’s legendary local café Cambrinus. He depicts a fictional community of artists featuring both people from his own personal circle and the café’s regulars.

Gravitational Waves is a subtle installation by artist Tomás Saraceno (°1973, Argentina/lives and works in Berlin). His projects are inspired by, among other things, spheres, cloud formations and… spiderwebs. In his work, he observes patters that occur both in the macrostructures of our universe and in the microsystems of nature. To Saraceno, the web is the best metaphor to connect everything that lives and survives. The installation seamlessly matches the surroundings of the Kattevennen and the Cosmodrome, where microcosms and macrocosms meet.

In 2014, Erik Odijk expanded the Emile Van Doren Museum with an outdoor exhibition space. Along with an ensemble of artists, he transformed the villa of landscape painter Emile Van Doren back into a place of encounter. The museum garden features the permanently exhibited works ‘Meeting Place of Memorial Stones for Lost Loved Ones’ (Erik Odijk), the ‘Prediction Module’ (Vaast Colson), ‘A meteorite named Erika’ (Erik Odijk) and ‘A Landscape for the Painter’ by Rudy J. Luijters.

The Green House in the middle of the Arboretum at Bokrijk was once ready to be demolished. Krijn de Koning decided to save it. He stripped the building from the inside out and added an extra layer to it, making it part of the Arboretum as a ruined pavilion. The design focuses on the beautiful enclosed garden that boasts a profusion of vegetation. He plays with the visitor’s gaze, sense of direction and perception. The work invites you to experience the place in a new way.

The concrete bridge at the Hoogzij connects the Heem Park with the nature reserve Kattevennen, but also brusquely interrupts this green area. British artist Nils Norman has painted the concrete walls with a collage of pictures that are inspired by the illustrations of the landscape painter and arachnologist Léon Becker (1826-1909). In the 19^th century, Becker visited Genk and published a standard work on spiders. Norman’s painting refers to the surrounding nature and the importance of ecological balance. In it likewise a critique of the closing of the Ford factory and its social impact.

In 2020, the City of Hasselt commissioned the search for a public artwork for the Ter Hilst residential area. This is a warm neighborhood where residents use their talents, and new connections are formed. A jury comprising neighborhood residents chose the 27-year-old Pavel Balta from a longlist of four artists. In his design, he symbolically selects the tunnel on Brigandstraat as his “canvas.” This bridge divides the neighborhood into two but can also be seen as a gate or connection.

The duo of architects Gijs Van Vaerenbergh created a see-through church in Borgloon. Reading between the Lines is 10 metres high and consist of 100 stacked layers of steel plate shaped like a little Loon church. The construction weighs no less than 30 tons. The special way in which the church was constructed ensures that the landscape always remains visible when looking through the church, but from a distance and close up. The church is thus present in the landscape, but also absent.

Memento is a sculpture in the Central Graveyard in Borgloon. The artwork by Wesley Meuris is an anchor in the rolling landscape and invites visitors to enter. The architectural structure of the work ensures a special experience of looking and wandering. The steel-constructed space can be interpreted in various ways and challenges one’s imagination. Whoever visits the space experiences its intimacy. This reflects the memory of its surroundings.

In Borgloon, Fred Eerdekens (BE) is exhibiting a folded line in the landscape. Along the Romeinse Kassei, you will find a wood-like sculpture in which you can read the word ‘twijfelgrens’ (doubtful border), but only when you look at it from exactly the right position. Fred Eerdekens often uses language as a medium for his artworks. At the same time, his work is a reflection on how language works. For Twijfelgrens, you must assume the right position to be able to read the “hidden” word and to acquire insight.

In the landscape, beside the lane heading to the castle of Hex, you will find four tree tents where you can spend the night. The tear-shaped sculptures hang from high trees and provide an alternative form of accommodation to spend the night in Haspengouw. The work of Dré Wapenaar (°1961, the Netherlands) is always situated at the intersection of architecture and sculpture, between a stay and an encounter. His sculptures are primarily tent constructions that are installed temporarily. They invite visitors to occupy them, to stay in them or to shelter beneath them. The social interaction around the work is of great importance to the artist.

In the landscape around the Abbey of Colen in Kerniel. The round construction with a stunning 360° view is delineated by uniform vertical wooden slats. Entering the artwork is a special experience that refers to the religious and is reminiscent of walking around an abbey. According to the artist, Aeneas Wilder, his work functions as a lens through which the visitor can focus his or her thoughts and emotions against the backdrop of the landscape around Kerniel.