"Rupture de digue", an aquatic exhibition at Art Pool

"Rupture de digue", an aquatic exhibition at Art Pool When artists decide to take the plunge By Martine Duprez Lined with silver paper, the room is plunged into darkness. The entire space is bathed in about twenty centimetres of water. Along the walls runs a jetty on which the public is invited to walk. As visitors step, spotlights switch on, illuminating the works - paintings or sculptures - exhibited at water level. A large fan diffuses a light breeze that ripples the watery surface. Art Pool certainly has not finished surprising us! Its exhibition-events, which every three months radically transform the ground-floor room on rue Gaucheret, have a playful side that would bring a smile to even the most art-proof person. No need for boots or oilskins to enjoy this "Rupture de digue". The highlight of the show is undoubtedly the model of the "Grand A". We have already told you at length about this grandiose project, born of the fertile imagination of sculptor Mon de Rijck. The "Grand A" signal is meant, for its promoters, to be one of the gateways to the city, along the canal. Two barges are raised vertically (to form an A); the other two lie horizontally in a basin. This prestigious site is intended to host exhibitions. Every country on the planet is invited to present an aspect of its economy and an aspect of its culture. The technical and budgetary feasibility studies have been thoroughly carried out. What remains is to convince the Brussels Region. A petition in the form of postcards bearing the project's emblem has been launched by Art Pool. Anyone wishing to support it can obtain them from Art Pool, which, in exchange for the stamp, will send them to the members of the executive. MARTINE DUPREZ Art Pool, rue Gaucheret, 80, 1210 Brussels, tel: 02/242.15.37. Until 28 June, open Fridays and Saturdays from 2 to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.