In June 2008 Belgian artist Honoré δ'O and German poet Ulf Stolterfoht visited the European zone in Brussels. Gigantic, cold office buildings and busy thoroughfares bordered picturesque streets surrounding squares. In the Leopold Park, where a zoo was once situated, Eurocrats were speaking all languages together at once. Ulf Stolterfoht wrote the poem ‘babel' based on his impressions of this particular part of Brussels. Honoré δ'O had this German poem translated into the 22 other official languages of the EU during a Babylonian translation workshop. Volunteer translators, who in their daily practice are active within the biotope of the European institutions, ventured into an unrestrained poetic translation. Each of them, in their own language, looked for the words that would best convey the rhythm and tone of Stolterfoht's poem. All of these versions now form the soundtrack of a unique film that seems to have brought the former Brussels zoo back to life again. In-between are to be heard the typical sounds of our common social living sphere: that is how universal babel is.
During the month of February one thousand copies of the movie will be distributed for free in the European Quarter, through international cultural institutions as Goethe Institut, Instituto Cervantes, British Council, Ceské Centrum, Finnish Cultural Institute, Hungarian Culture Brussels, Danske Institut, ... Free copies are also available in Passa Porta (as long as stocks last).
‘babel'is presented on Thursday 28th January, 6 pm in Passa Porta, Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat 46, 1000 Brussels.
www.passaporta.be