Brussels has found an appropriately temporary way to reproduce a wave.
This weekend, the Grand-Place has become an enormous floral reinterpretation of Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa—1,680 square meters of flowers, including more than half a million dahlias, arranged in a design by Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama and his collective Enlightenment.
The work marks 160 years of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan. It also continues one of Brussels’ more charming civic habits: every two years, roughly 120 volunteers spend a few frantic hours turning one of Europe’s grandest public squares into an artwork that has already been given a date for its disappearance.
This one lasts four days.
There is something wonderfully appropriate about rendering Hokusai’s great wave in flowers. One is a moment of water that cannot be held. The other is an artwork that cannot be kept.
By Monday, both will be memory.
#TheModernRaconteur #DailyBrief #Hokusai