RTBF – new icons from Namur on the mural of Walloon
RTBF – Justine Massut
A brand new mural of Walloon will be visible next week in the gardens of Le Maïeur. The famous trompe-l’oeil, which was inaugurated on 18 September 2004 on the occasion of the “Fêtes de Wallonie”, had become dull. Some characters had faded and tags damaged the work. The refurbishment was accompanied by an update of the fresco. To do this, the City called on CitéCréation, the Lyon-based company that created the work.
The restoration took place in two stages,” says Joëlle Bonhomme, artistic director of CitéCréation. “We made all the trompe-l’oeil windows that are on canvases in our workshops in Lyon. Then we came here to Namur to paint the rest of the work. We brought the paintings and pawned them. This is a technique that is quite often used in painted walls. The second important part on this facade was to reaffirm the architecture. To give it back strength and power. We repaint all the contrasts, which made it possible to redesign the architecture”. First, five painters were mobilized for five weeks in Lyon. Then, three people worked for nearly three weeks in Namur.
In addition to the 200 or so references already present on the fresco, the City wanted to include new characters. We find the athlete Nafissatou Thiam, Father Malherbe and the sculptor Félix Roulin. New names have also been added to the book slices: Willy Peers, who fought for the legalization of abortion, the Pairi Daiza animal park and the Namur festival in May. These newcomers were chosen among others by the Municipal College on the basis of a proposal from the City’s Culture Department.
The scaffolding will be dismantled early next week and the fresco will be fully visible from September 26.