The Illusion of an Illusion: Recreating a Historic Set of the Schouwburg Kortrijk - Forment, Bruno (2024)
An uncommon silhouette made an appearance at recent editions of the Wiener Festwochen, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Holland Festival, and the Ruhrtriënnale: a tropical forest made out of paint, textile, and wood. Audiences in four countries could witness the resurrection of Albert Dubosq’s “Forêt asiatique” (1921), a stock set from the Belle Époque, drawn from the caverns of Belgian theater history. This enchanted journey into the past was made possible by a unique collaboration between artists, scholars, and the theater industry, all in order to make a piece of theatrical heritage venture beyond Flanders and the limits of patrimonial rules. This article discloses the story that gave birth to the ‘illusion of an illusion,’ commencing with a discussion of the set’s historical context.
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Editorial review
Keywords: Dubosq, Albert; Resounding Libraries: Unfolding Archived Knowledge Through Artistic Research; Scenography