The HEART of FALAEN, by ELBE (Laurent Berbach)

Practical information

The "HEART of FALAEN", imagined and realised by the artist Elbe, alias Laurent Berbach, has just found its place in the "heart" of the village of Falaën!  This was the occasion to inaugurate the event in the presence of local representatives, partners and the artist.  We thank them all warmly and wish "bon vent" to the HEART of FALAEN! About the work "This heart is Falaën. "My common thread is to propose a sculpture that symbolizes in my eyes the village and its values. To wander through the streets among the old stones and its inhabitants is to make encounters, to smell the spirit that pushes to preserve the past of the place, to restore its heritage and keep it alive." "Incorporating a mechanical agricultural element is a reading of the history of Falaën. Its shape as a 'cornucopia' translates the heritage and the growth of the village between iron and earth work." "This Heart of Falaën could only be found here on the church square: the heart of the village. A symbolically chosen place, a heart that beats in unison with the bells during weddings and other events. The strong, intense red colour of the steel combines with the colour of the omnipresent stones to appear in the landscape." "The charm of the streets, for me, came in the form of a bird. Seeking to place historical points of interest in them as places of life is to form this constellation visible on the back of the work. It invites the discovery of the past and the future. "Whether you are permanent or passing through these places, I invite you to take a selfie to immortalise this symbol of love and strength of the village through time. Feel free to post them on info@beauxvillages.be." ELBE - Laurent Berbach About the art circuit On the initiative of the Asbl "Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie" and in collaboration with the communes mentioned below, the project "Six pas vers l'Art entre Samson et Lesse", aims to create, in the long term, a "Parcours d'Art", a sort of thematic circuit between 6 labelled villages: Thon-Samson (Andenne), Mozet (Gesves), Crupet (Assesse), Falaën (Onhaye), Sosoye (Anhée) and Celles (Houyet). With contemporary art as the main theme, this tour will link these six "ambassadors" of a whole region and will allow, by car, bicycle or, why not, on foot, the discovery of works of art as well as the richness of the village heritage! Why "Six steps towards art between Samson and Lesse"? A step is an entrance, a passage, but also a movement, a step, a footprint, a footprint that we want to leave in each village so that this tour is both tourist and cultural. The step is a meeting between the tradition of our villages and the cultural approach of contemporary art. "Art is a step from nature to infinity" -Khalil Gibran-. The Samson and the Lesse, tributary rivers of the right bank of the Meuse, lick the edges of these 6 Beautiful Villages and will lull the visitors with their gentle meanders. The works  The contemporary works refer to the very character and essence of the village in which they are located. Based on the theme of the environment, they are made from natural materials: wood, stone, earth, metal, etc. The circuit In 2019, the Beau Village de Celles (Houyet) was given the work "CHEMIN DE CROIX", created by the artist Pierre Courtois. In this year 2022, and after an interruption of the artistic process linked to the sanitary context, it is the villages of Sosoye (with "L'EAU DE VIE de SOSOYE", created by -Norska-, alias Alexandre Rossignon) and Falaën (with the "COEUR de FALAEN", created by -Elbe-, alias Laurent Berbach) that have been adorned with their work.