Colonnade
As part of the Bruges Triennial 2021, an artwork was constructed in the Baron Ruzette park that straddles the boundary between sculptural pavilion and monumental sculpture. The triennial centred on the theme ‘TraumA’. For the inhabitants of a medieval city, a forest represented something dangerous, something inhospitable. In a similar way, the journey through Colonnade requires each visitor to decide for themselves whether or not to surrender to (the idea of) the unknown.
The structure is conceived as a floor and roof slab measuring 10 by 10 meters, held together by 100 columns. On the one hand, it looks impenetrable and massive due to the sheer number of columns. Constructed from weathered steel, the structure stands out from the green lawn on which it is positioned. It is in effect a sculptural volume, occupying a prominent position in the park as a primarily visual and tactile folly.
On the other hand, the structure is perceived as a pavilion that can be entered. Nevertheless, the columns are slanted and jumbled together in a crisscross manner, which makes it reminiscent of an impenetrable forest. Once inside the work, a new and entirely different sense of space emerges. The solid image dissolves, the context disappears, and all points of reference vanish. On the inside, the external delineation of the work gives way to a feeling of infiniteness. Visitors are thrown back onto themselves and have to work their way through a spatial construction with labyrinth-like qualities.
By using architectural elements in an unusual manner, a sense of tension is created which evokes a feeling of alienation. Neither fully sculpture nor fully architecture, the structure urges visitors to explore and experience the pavilion and surrender themselves to this forest of columns.
COMMISSION
Bruges Triennial 2021
LOCATION
Baron Ruzette park, Bruges (BE)