Une Saison en Enfer

UnSaisonEnEnfer Barchitecten 3 — © B-architecten

UnSaisonEnEnfer Barchitecten 2 — © B-architecten

UnSaisonEnEnfer Barchitecten 1 — © B-architecten

UnSaisonEnEnfer Barchitecten 4 — © B-architecten

Theatre & exhibitions

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Arthur Rimbaud’s birth, the Centre of Fine Arts Brussels (BOZAR) opened an exhibition. It is built around two themes: the Rimbaud period in Brussels and “Une Saison en Enfer”.

Status

completed - 2003

Location

BOZAR, Brussels

Client

Center for fine Arts Brussels & Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België

Team

Evert Crols, Els De Brabander, Dirk Engelen, Sven Grooten, Jürgen Van Der Donckt

In collaboration with

Blitz vzw

The exposition is divided into three parts and evolves from “full to empty”.

Part 1: The Head. All rooms are painted black and have scarce lighting. This is Rimbaud’s underworld.

Part 2: The Body. Here the spaces are treated very differently with coloured lighting and materials to evoke different atmospheres: wall paper, red and green light. The central piece in this part is the original copy of the publication of Une Saison en Enfer.

Part 3: The Feeling. This part starts again in black and leads to a brightly lit white room in which Benjamin Britten’s Illuminations is heard playing.

The visitor leaves the exposition through a desert of black sand, which symbolises Rimbaud’s last years in Harar, Africa.