MOLENBEEK PALIMPSEST
Pixel words are to be found along the Canal, under the windmills and beneath the feet of passers-by.
Running along the Molenbeek canal is a promenade built in
the spring of 2010 and designed by the artist Henri Jacobs. Black
and light-grey clinkers form the pixels of words in four languages
(Dutch, French, Russian and Arabic) and three alphabets (Latin,
Arabic and Cyrillic). The artist and the poet refer to a palimpsest
as a metaphor for the various cultures that live together in
Molenbeek.
" sur la chaussée pavée encore humide
on devine des traces de pas "
on display
Molenbeek was once a rural village that supplied Brussels with the products of the countryside. As a result of its location on the canal, in the first half of the nineteenth century it developed into an outlying industrial borough. It is still a borough where urban renewal is in full swing. It is also a place of great contrasts: for example, what is expected of life in old and new Molenbeek is not the same. Successive waves of immigration have given rise to a curious cultural mix.
From Sainctelettesquare / Place Sainctelette to Zwarte Paardstraat / Rue du Cheval-Noir along the canal in Molenbeek.
partners
Passa Porta collaborated with Sint-Jans-Molenbeek Council, R.I.C. Foyer Brussel, Buurthuis Bonnevie, Huis van Culturen en Sociale Samenhang, Gemeenschapscentrum De Vaartkapoen, JES vzw, Academie voor tekenkunsten en visuele kunsten, Brukselbinnenstebuiten, La Fonderie, VOEM, Brussel behoort ons toe/Bruxelles nous appartient.