Medieval wood found in Ghent gets new life as art
Centuries-old planks and beams from the Prinsenhof site in Ghent will be given new life in a work by renowned Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere. The artwork will be on show next year in a major retrospective at Bozar in Brussels, Flemish public broadcaster VRT reports.
The Prinsenhof is one of the most important and oldest sites in Ghent. Viscount Hugo II had a castle there in the 13th century, and it later became the base of the Counts of Flanders and the Dukes of Burgundy. It was the birthplace of Charles V in 1500.
Recent archaeological excavations at the site uncovered a moat that presumably surrounded an embankment on which the castle was built. Planks, beams and posts found there could be more than 800 years old.
That medieval wood is getting a special repurposing: it will be used in a work by Ghent artist De Bruyckere, who is preparing a major retrospective exhibition at Bozar. The wood will serve as a pedestal for the sculpture of an imposing angel. She previously exhibited that work, Arcangelo III, with a polyester pedestal at the Venice Biennale in the church of San Giorgio Maggiore.
“It’s very special wood, which captures the imagination,” De Bruyckere told VRT. “The beams are very dark and have absorbed dirt, mud and water. The planks have a unique shape, they were manually sawn centuries ago.”
Archaeologists also discovered coins, buttons and a clay pipe site at the site. The finds may help chart the evolution of the site.
De Bruyckere's exhibition will run from 21 February to 31 August. In addition to the pedestal from medieval material and a lot of earlier work, it will also feature new creations by the artist.
#FlandersNewsService | Exhibition by Berlinde De Bruyckere in the Bonnefanten museum in the Netherlands © PHOTO ANP/ HOLLANDSE HOOGTE / SABINE JOOSTEN
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