Concerto de la nature

Concerto de la nature is a work of the artist Made (FR - real name: Patrick Demazeau), produced as part of the first festival of May in 2001. It is inspired by the 4 seasons of Vivaldi.
The orchestra consists of trees, seated in red chairs. The conductor is in front. This set interprets the "Four Seasons" throughout the year.

We can see exactly 25 chairs through which 25 trees appear to have grown.

Since 2007, it has been rumored that the red chairs shown here are in Poland. A wedding ceremony was reportedly interrupted by the German invasion in 1939, shortly before the start of World War II, and the chairs were reportedly left without a master in the wall. Years later, when they were found abandoned in the woods, trees sprouted through the red chairs. Since that day, they would have been repainted every year with a new red color to remember the beginning of the war. At least that's the myth that circulates on the internet.

Patrick Demazeau, known by the stage name Made, born in 1951 in Châtellerault (France), is a French visual artist, conceptual who has borrowed the paths of land art for more than 30 years.

La fête de mai

In the beginning, according to the legend elaborated by the artist Byoung-Tak Moon , a dragon inhabited the bowels of the earth. He is the mythological figure from Asian legends who symbolizes the forces of nature and its riches, appearing at every moment to remind people of the respect they owe to their environment, their traditions and their history. Likewise, every year the Fête de Mai invites artists and visitors to meet in the heart of the Namur Condroz to pay tribute to art and nature. In barely 15 years, dozens of international artists, sometimes from other continents, have been able to express themselves in our forests and landscapes in Gesves.

More than a hundred works, mostly made of natural materials, almost half of which are still visible, have found their place here. Hundreds of visitors have discovered them, freely and for free, by taking the walking routes designed for them. In passing, they crossed the paths, valleys, natural areas and lush landscapes (45 minutes from Brussels and Liège) of the Condroz in Namur.

La fête de mai was founded in 2001 in the municipality of Gesves and is organized by the vzw Vagabond'Art.

Les sentiers d'art

In 2018, the Gesves loop will connect to the Sentiers d'Art and Condroz-Famenne which has already crossed Gesves and Ohey, Somme-Leuze and Havelange. Sentiers d'Art extends to Ciney and Hamois and forms a walking circuit of 120 km.

The Sentier d'Art en Condroz-Famenne is an attractive and unique walking route in Wallonia, which extends over 141 km in the Vallée des Saveurs (Ciney, Gesves, Hamois, Havelange, Ohey, Somme-Leuze) and along which 42 works of art in located in nature.

These works of art belong to the Land Art movement that emerged in the 1960s. The artist intervenes directly on space and the components of landscape and nature. To work in harmony with the environment that welcomes her, the artist works with natural materials (branches, rocks, foliage, hay, etc.) and the installation evolves over time until it is finally biodegradable. They are therefore often fleeting works. They have to stay with the Sentiers d'Art for a few years. Whether the work is simple or complex, Land Art integrates with nature.

Sentiers d'Art is accessible all year round free of charge to all non-motorized users.

The 140 km circuit is signposted (red rectangle marked "Sentiers d'Art"). Some small family itineraries offer the opportunity to discover different works of art over a distance of 6 to 16 km and are not marked. However, these small loops are detailed on the map (on sale for 3 €).

Note: The big loop is only marked in one direction and the small loop is not marked.

Willem Vandenameele