Views of Bruges

Early days in the construction of The Bruges Diptych on Goudenhandrei

 I really want to write about the latest Triennale, just officially opened. It is entitled TraumA and seeks to explore beneath the surface for the city’s hidden dimensions through monumental examples of public art and architecture. Nearest to my place, around the corner on Goudenhandrei, is a wondrous structure, not yet finished in fact. It is so ambitious in scope of construction and use of materials, that one does feel a small house could have been built at the same speed and cost! It is Number 3 on the leaflet which gives the architect as Jon Lott and the name of the edifice, The Bruges Diptych. It claims to be built near where Jan Van Eyck almost certainly lived, and the architectural diptych consists of Lott’s splendid construction built at the rear of the site of the original Van Eyck waterfront house. The Diptych is so-called because it tries to establish, a connection between what can be seen on the Goudenhandrei and what takes place behind the house facades, echoing the principal raison d’etre of TraumA. The entire Triennale is based on “architectural interventions”, seeking to take the visitor to experience the

View of The Strangler from Buiten Kruisvest
Nice composition with the Sint Janshuismolen.

oscillation between dream [the famed beauty of the mediaeval exterior of Brugge] and reality [real life as experienced beneath the stately surface.] The finished Diptych pavilion will also be the operating base for the public programme of the Brugge Triennale 2021 which includes children’s events in the calendar of exploration and experience through guided walks and group visits led by curatorial staff. Plus lectures, debates and film screenings.

The garden of Guido Gezellehuis is always tranquil, always green and secluded, separate from the bustle of normal life [pre-Covid] within the Egg. But at present, the magnificent pine tree standing sentinel over the garden is wrapped around with a luminous pink metal structure encasing both tree and an inviting silver stairway making its way to the high summit. Hector Zamora likens his structure to the Strangler trees in tropical forests which slowly encase and eventually, overcome, host trees. But in this creation, the scaffolding invites visitors to experience the trunk, the leaves, the branches, the summit of

View from on high over the St Sebastiaan Guild garden.

the tree in a completely different manner from the everyday, making the ascent easy, and rewarding the small effort with a totally different view of Brugge. Today, Friday 29 May, I climbed the silver stairway for what will be the first time. I chose today for its sun and lack of wind and rain of which plenty lately, to maximise the experience, and enjoyed it all enormously! Hector Zamora definitely has a splendid imagination, permitting anyone to have the adventure of climbing to the sky, as it were, in completely easy safety. Even those nervous of heights will have a fear-free experience! And the views are wonderful and panoramic. AND, unbelievably, my continuing love affair with the blackbird continued when I heard its song as I climbed! A lovely morning.

Rather better than my attempt, earlier in the week to talk to someone from the Tax Office, somewhere in Belgium. I cannot complete the Dutch tax forms in red any year, so, pre-Corvid, I simply typed up the details of my pensions, etc and took it to the Bruges tax office, queuing with other citizens for ages, to sit down opposite a tax person who never failed to be kind and charming as she/he copied my info on to the computer. Always trouble-free! This week, cautioned that ringing the help number provided on the envelope sent to me, was the best way forward, I rang and apologised for the English language and asked if the operative could speak English. He answered simply, “No.” Did he have an English-speaking colleague available? “No!” came the immediate reply, followed by, “Francais?” I explained in slow French that my Francais wasn’t good enough and to my astonishment, he said, “ Oh excuseer m’vrouw, Bye, bye.” and rang off. A Bruges-born friend then tried on my behalf but failed to find anyone English-speaking but was given a new number to ring. He hung on as the number provided, rang for seven fruitless minutes. I had been told that if I posted the form as I had intended, it depended on who opened it for fair treatment. Some tax employee could well log my info sheet as “Not registered,” For the first time in six years I felt excluded and am currently pondering on next steps while wondering if one of those ‘Independence for Flanders’ parties has seized control of the Belgian tax system.

The highest viewing platform of The Strangler.

BUT Bruges still beckons invitingly with its current TraumA!

Banisteria Caapi by Henrique Oliveira
Root structures crawling over the remains of 
the original mediaeval city wall.
Roots made of plywood collected in Sao Paulo
and Brugge.
Pottenmakersstraat 1.

Happy Coincidences by Amanda Brouwer on Vervesdijk
and on the facade of the College of Europe.
A colourful palette of shapes and surfaces in fabric created
with local volunteers.
There are three additional canvasses which will be found
located in three successive hidden spots in Brugge.

A final view of Brugge of a boat which has wintered on the Coupure. A poignant reminder for me of my sister Esme who died
in 2017.