Pluis de kip zingt de Bee Gees

as the mystery unfolds

5+ days of work, with hours of snipping, painting, sewing and stapling.....

snow on our street

and this is what the school playground from our terrace looks like now!

shopping on a sunday!

So J and I were taking the bus to Wijnegem, and we got off the bus stop and this is where we ended up...

not kidding; this shopping centre was (suprisingly) open on a Sunday because of the upcoming festive season; but this being our first time there, we were suprised to see that it faced a big open patch of green...and then we saw the brightly coloured Christmas decorations, and knew we were in the right direction
so this is it, antwerp's answer to the all-in-one suburban mall...
with Sinterklaas decor
and a small house (which, by the way, parents would pay 6euros to take a picture with good ol sint, and get a small bag of candy) with a precariously climbing zwarte piet
I thought this was a pretty good use of a (pretty) normal piece of furniture, as a setting for the contact lens campaign..

and of course, this is us having our free samples of yoghurt (we got a tub of coconut [??!?!?!?] and a tub of raspberry)  ...
had to post this; they have this chain in holland as well; and I always thought it was an excellent way to get people into the shop - what better, than to call it free?
so we were done with our day of window shopping; and we stepped out and this is what we saw!!!
the weather forecast had warned that it would be a day of snow and the day temperature hovering around 1degree...
and being in Wijnegem (which is about 15 minutes out of the city) it was really quiet, white...almost like a movie...the snow really dampens the atmospheric sounds out...

day at the verbeke foundation

So J's family came by this weekend, and we had an excellent excursion out to the Verbeke Foundation - a sprawling contemporary art space with an amazing array of sculptures/collages/really really nice stuff..

this is one of my favorite rooms - it showcases the foundation's collection of collages and assemblages; and not only are the works a riot; I was intruiged by the nature of the roof of the room as well..

and here we have my lovely dutch family looking at the various works on display

now we step out to the enclosed outdoor area; and yes, your eyes don't deceive you - they are parangs (machetes) mounted on machines, each presenting a book - and they move and squeak and creak and make a whole lot of sound!!

this picture basically summarizes my experience of the spaces here: just the right mix of 1)unexpectedness, 2) unsettling sights/sounds and 3) a healthy dose of context 

this is a cool one...two motors outfitted with rubber tires are activated and these in turn feed a thick (marine) rope at a speed where it creates a moving lasso.. here you see the rope in action

and here the machine is off, and the rope stays limp on the ground..

this was one of the most arresting pieces that I saw, where the artist created these avian hybrids of bird/lizard taxidermy pieces..

and in the outdoor spaces, this was a fascinating work made from planks - which in my mind, heightened my perception of the lowly rattan basket, when seeing this work in its huge format!!

if you ever find yourself in Antwerp/Belgium, this is one highly recommended arts space; it was great to run around and find works around every corner and in the green too!