Once the epicenter of trade and a site for various gatherings, the medieval courtyard had become more of a passageway or waiting area for its many visitors.
With The Joyful Apocalypse, Traumnovelle entered into a dialogue with the courtyard, formulating a radically different alternative to the typical situation. Their installation exploited and reactivated the entire site, transforming it into a place of wonder and play. Visitors recognized materials like scaffolding, aluminum panels, and silver curtains in the work, all of which followed the contours of the courtyard and reflected the 9-meter-high structure. The installation captured the colors of its surroundings, giving the impression of perpetual change, much like the overhead sky. It absorbed heat and emanated cold, alluring yet impervious.
The Joyful Apocalypse upgraded the square into a temporary stage, turning casual passers-by into dynamic extras. Visitors were invited to wander through the structure and observe – across three floors – what was happening above and below. Open-air performances, presentations, and concerts – some planned, others spontaneous – took place both on and around the installation. It raised questions: Who is the user? Who is the spectator or actor? Who observes whom?
Reflecting the past, The Joyful Apocalypse was, above all, an incentive to do more with the site in the future, for Bruges and all those who live and move through the city.
Traumnovelle (2015, Brussel, BE) was founded in 2015 by the architects Léone Drapeaud (b. 1987, Canberra, AU), Manuel León Fanjul (b. 1990, Charleroi, BE) and Johnny Leya (b. 1990, Kinshasa, DRC). The Brussels-based firm positions itself as a militant faction that weaves fiction and non-fiction into projects on paper or in stone. In its work, Traumnovelle highlights socio-political themes through interventions that have a radical impact on their surroundings and thus spark debate.