Madame Chapeau... - Secret World

Rue du Midi, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgio

by Lara Kipling

Designed to create a dynamics between two streets, this sculpture beams with its presence in the space that was allocated to the artist. The monument is precious to Belgium's (and especially Brussels') collective memory. It contributes to the connection of "the people who pass by" on two interactive parameters: the space of what is real and the time of what is imaginary. Looking at the lady closely, one notices the artist's "zwanze" again: she is fearlessly counting her money in an area of Brussels that is famous for its pickpockets. She even teases them with her unsnatchable bronze wallet! Madame Chapeau is one of the colourful characters of "Bossemans et Copenolle", a 1938 comedy by Paul van Stalle and Joris d'Hanswijck, which features old Brussels' "petits bourgeois". This play is part of Belgium's cultural heritage.