Around the block

I am working on some kind of creativity block lately, so I accepted the challenge of the Berlin-based photographer Matthias Heiderich. He advises us to take a walk around the block and look at banal things in a new light.

I live in Ixelles. I took a walk around the block this morning and here are the results. Let me know which ones you like, so I can upload them to my photography site:-)

Grateful for your feedback!

The Dieweg Cemetery

So many memories came back while strolling in this cemetery, no longer in use, serving as an unusual promenade spot in Uccle. 

It recalled the municipal cemetery in Vienna, with the tombs of many a famous composer. Also overgrown with all kinds of rampant weeds. 

The red carnations on one of the tombs reminded me of the Romanian Revolution in December 1989. The red carnation was namely the official flower of the Ceaușescu regime. I was 8. I was not allowed to leave the house for a month or so. The first time I went outside after the shootings were over, I stepped into an immaculate ghost city. Heavy snow had covered everything. No footprints anywhere, as people were still afraid to leave their houses. And this shroud of heavy silence...

Apparently, the Dieweg cemetery is famous for the spring equinox, when a beam of light enters the chapel, leaving a heart-shaped mark on the inner walls.  

Le renard noir

The black fox.

I recognised here many of the faces from Recyclart. Piercings, tattoos, bohemians with velvet coats. And made a new acquaintance: Vlad, the Ukrainian bartender/ owner with a heavy, yet charming accent.

Classical Belgian décor, lots of wood and mirrors. Not to mention the cosy terrace. The menu features some rare beers, such as Le fruit défendu, and some yummy snacks.

The perfect place to quench your thirst after the animated flee market at Jeu de Balle or a tour of the art galleries in the Sablon.  

Venue: 233 rue Haute, 1000 Brussels

art & marges

A small, lesser-known museum in the Marolles.

For over 25 years, it has been defending the artists outside the classical cultural circuit, the outsiders, the self-taught or psychologically fragile. 

The entrance costs only 4 euros. I heartily recommend their last expo, "Il était une fois l'art brut" ("Once upon a time, there was art brut"). The raw or outsider art is usually associated with the possible origins of art: the childhood, the primitive, the savage, the confinement.

Jean Dubuffet is considered the father of art brut. The nicest thing about this expo is the classification by colours, easy to grasp even by a child. So don't hesitate to spend an hour with your family in this charming museum...

Address: 312-314 rue Haute, 1000 Brussels

K.LOAN

Not an ordinary furniture store.

For some reason, I don't like impeccable design furniture, but the one bearing the signs of the inexorable passage of time, a stain of rust here and there. This does not only apply to furniture, also to architecture, books etc.

More than that, K.Loan has an atmosphere. You can feel the hand and the soul that combined the objects, transcending their condition, telling a story.

I dare say: K.LOAN is a labyrinth of delicacy and force.

 P.S. This is not an ad.

2 venues in Brussels: 101 Rue Blaes and 537 Chaussée de Boondael 

La verrière Hermès

Recipe for a perfect evening: take a writer, an art critic and a psychoanalyst.

Go to the Hermes shop on avenue Louise. Cross the shop. Go to the back. Mingle with the pique-assiettes (spongers, trenchermen). Sip from a glass of champagne. Make conversation about contemporary art. Look at the sky through the glass roof.

Day-dream. Smile as much as you can. Don't think about yesterday or tomorrow. Relax...

Venue: 50 boulevard de Waterloo, 1000 Brussels

Résidence Palace

Another breathtaking example of Art Deco in Brussels, hidden jewel within the European quarter. Built after the plans of Swiss architect Michel Polak, it opened its doors in 1927. 

Résidence Palace is a complex of buildings situated between rue de la Loi and Chaussée d'Etterbeek. The oldest building consists of 180 luxury apartments of 3 to 20 rooms each. Apart from that, the complex hosts conference rooms, a press centre, a pool, Turkish baths and a theatre. 

My personal favourite is the restaurant on the ground floor. The cherry on the cake is the ceramic fountain in the patio, of Andalusian inspiration. A perfect venue if you want to impress your date...

Address: rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels