Artist Joost Pauwaert convicted over homemade cannons, but spared punishment
The Ghent court found artist Joost Pauwaert (40) guilty of violating Belgian weapons legislation but granted him the benefit of suspension, meaning he will not be punished. The case centred on Big Bang II, a 2023 art project featuring two life-size cannons that fired at each other on the grounds of the Verbeke Foundation in Kemzeke. The Niewsblad reported this on Monday.
The East Flanders public prosecutor’s office charged Pauwaert with illegal possession and manufacture of weapons. The cannons, replicas of Napoleonic artillery, were part of a large-scale installation. To ensure safety, the artist constructed a 50-metre-long tunnel on site, reinforced with concrete and earth. The project took five years to complete.
The case began after Pauwaert shared details of the work publicly in late 2023. That prompted an investigation and house searches, both at his home and at the Verbeke Foundation.
"I only wanted to make art"
In court, Pauwaert defended his work as purely artistic. “I only wanted to make a work of art,” he said, describing the prosecution as a “Kafkaesque situation.” He added: “But if I had made a weapon, then I would be the first to have done so to create something and not to destroy something.”
© Joost Pauwaert
Court decision: No punishment
His lawyer, Jan Leysen, argued there was no malicious intent and called for acquittal. “There was no moral element that would make him guilty of violating the weapons legislation,” he said. The Verbeke Foundation, which also stood trial, echoed that position. “This is an artillery piece that is no longer in use. It is not like we would send such weapons to the front,” it said.
However, the court ruled that the artist did violate the law. “A distinction must be made because these guns were indeed designed for military use,” the judge said.
Still, the court acknowledged the artistic context and criticised the handling of the case. “It was regrettable that the case was not handled in a different way,” the judge said, noting that no mediation procedure had been offered.
Both Pauwaert and the Verbeke Foundation were granted suspension of sentence, and the cannons were not confiscated. “A prohibited weapon must be forfeited, but the court finds that the weapons have been rendered unusable. As a result, the court finds that forfeiture is not necessary,” the ruling stated.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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