Looking for a good book? The public library in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem has acquired something special that makes finding it extra fun. An interesting mural makes literature readable in an innovative way. In collaboration with the Leuven street art collective Treepack and artist Gijs Vanhee, you are now taken on a journey through an interesting painted story as you enter.
Last year, the library has already taken some steps to make their collection of knowledge and literature more accessible. The range of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults has been supplemented. In the process, the library website was also redesigned so that people could find the right book to their heart's content. This was not all, a bigger idea with a special mural was conceived.
For this wish, Treepack combined their passion in street art with Mechelen artist Gijs Vanhee. An old pollard willow buds its new young branches sprouting over the wall of the library. It symbolizes the power of renewal and the possibility of growth, transformation and rebirth. The strong willow serves as the foundation for the house of books built upon it. The ladder leading to the entrance is an invitation to participate in the world of knowledge and wisdom within it.
Vanhee's narrative drawings often include people with bird heads, which he calls his "freebirds. In this mural, one can be spotted holding a book. "These characters represent the idea that people are free in their minds through imagination. They reflect the search for freedom and balance between nature and society," Gijs Vanhee mentions.
Treepack and Gijs Vanhee made this beautiful mural possible, but only through the talent of the viewer can it become a complete artistic work. The reader must also have imagination and attention that gives the artwork its value. With one's own imagination, it makes one look at the world in multiple ways. A personal discovery of all the stories the library has to offer. The mural hereby opens new doors, so feel free to come in.
