Bart Lodewijks: Merelbeke—Tekeningen

Bart Lodewijks undertook a series of lined chalk drawings in the halls and rooms of a care home for the elderly in Merelbeke, Belgium. But when the global pandemic broke out in March 2020, the living centre had to be closed to outsiders. During this time, he continued his drawings at places where the residents had once lived or worked. Later, after they were moved to a brand-new facility, the artist continued adding chalk textures and shapes to the walls, now in colour. This three-part narrative of Merelbeke comes with ‘Naar Watou toe’, a collaboration of Lodewijks and Jan Kempenaers in anticipation of a yearly arts festival at a small Belgian town near the French border.