“When we remembered that everything came out of the hands and soul of this man – without any technical means – we understood that men could be as efficient as God in other fields than destruction ” – Elzéard Bouffier, Jean Giono

In 1953, Jean Giono responded to a call for authors from the American magazine Reader’s Digest. The magazine asked him to tell the story of the most unforgettable character he’d ever met.

For the magazine he told the story of a silent shepherd, whom the narrator at first sight mistakes for a ‘lonely tree trunk’. During this encounter, the narrator learns that Elzéard Bouffier – the shepherd – has been planting oak trees for three years from acorns that he has selected in advance and prepared with the greatest care. “He had planted one hundred thousand. Of the hundred thousand, twenty thousand had come out. Of these twenty thousand, he still thought he would lose half, either to rodents or to whatever is impossible to foresee in the designs of Providence. There remained ten thousand oaks that would grow in this place where there had been nothing before.

This exhibition is an invitation to rethink the way we inhabit our spaces, our environments, the earth: our way of being in the world.

With works by Etti Abergel, Allore & Calzadilla, Alma Allen, Maria Thereza Alves, Joseph Beuys, David Brian, Sofia Borges, Patrick Van Caeckenbergh, Nina Canell, Chiara Chamoni, Adriano Costa, Cécie Defforey, Sam Durant, Roe Ethridge, Pedro França, Anna Bella Geiger, John Giorno, Sonia Gomes, Sergej Jensen, Breton Ken, Sonia Kurarra, Tom Lowe, Marij Majic, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Susan Marawarr, Tony Matelli, Barbara Moore, Paul Namarinjmak Nabulumo, Kenan Namunjdja, Richard Nonas, Rosana Paulino, Fernando Marques Penteado, Eric Poitevin, Laure Prouvost, Bosco Sodi, Barthélémy Toguo, Achraf Touloub, Philippe Van Snick, Mayur & Tushar Vayeda, Danh Vō, Ji-Yun-Fei, Lawrence Weiner, Bandarr Wirrpanda, Deborah Wurrkidj

TheMerode would like to acknowledge all the partners that made this exhibition possible, with a special thanks to: Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery, Galerie Almine Rech, Arcade, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Galerie Baronian, Caroline Reden Collection, Charles Riva Collection, dépendance, Dvir Gallery, Fine Art Consult, Galeria Jaqueline Martins, Laure Prouvost and Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Mendes Wood, Galerie Michel Rein, Nino Mier Gallery, Modesti Perdriolle Gallery, Nosbaum Reding, OV Project, Tom Lowe, Galerie Xavier Hufkens and Zeno X.

Timing:

• 18:30 > Welcome
• 19:00 > Opening Word
• 19:30 > Visit
• 20:00 – 22:00 > Networking at theStables