Skeleton of Tom Herck

The ten-meter-high skeleton by the artist from Trui, Tom Herck, which he showcased in 2024 along the Canal Grande in Venice, will receive a permanent location along the Scheldt in West Flanders. Herck effortlessly and frequently attracted international press attention. “I wanted to achieve something impossible: present a work during the Venice Biennale, the most important art event in the world. And I succeeded. Thanks to the help of many people, a lot of work, and without government funding.”

The Once we ruled the world project will thus have a permanent spot at the site of Le Bassin, the historic open-air swimming pool along the Scheldt in Spiere-Helkijn in West Flanders. Originally built as a pilot project for water purification in 1935, converted into a swimming pool in 1939 until someone drowned in 1955. The pool was closed and lay neglected for decades. In 2008, it became a protected monument and they are making it a tourist hotspot in West Flanders. Already, walking paths and cycling routes are being developed around it.

Fun fact: this location is right on the border between Flanders and Wallonia.

Mediahuis België