As you step inside BRUSK, your eye is immediately drawn to a monumental, four-part fresco. You stand face to face with the impressive artwork 'The Whispering Walls Rêve' (2026) by the internationally renowned artist Laure Prouvost. Look, wander, and continually discover new meanings.
Packed with references
'The Whispering Walls Rêve' in the Scala, the freely accessible staircase in BRUSK, is a real eye-catcher spanning a total of 350 m². The fresco forms a kind of windows onto Bruges, filled with details and references to the city’s history, art collections, inhabitants and characteristic architecture. Combined with Prouvost’s unique, organic visual language full of artistic and literary references, the fresco becomes an endless journey of discovery.
Prouvost draws inspiration from themes such as emancipation, globalisation and ecology. She approaches these themes in a conceptual and poetic way, combining personal memories, artistic and literary references, and elements of fiction. Through language, she sparks the imagination, using humour to disrupt linear narratives and expected associations between words, images and meaning.
A game of perspective and interaction
The fresco is not only full of references; it also plays with perspective. Prouvost creates the illusion of a ceiling where none exists through a realistic mural. At the same time, other elements are not illusions at all: real mirrors, bas‑relief, glass birds…
Visitors are challenged to constantly reassess their perception. The movement of people through the building and their interaction with the work is also essential to Prouvost. A female figure extends a hand toward visitors who have just climbed the stairs. In her hand lies a bronze clementine. In Prouvost’s visual language, the clementine is a sign of love. Visitors are invited to touch the bronze element, which will gradually change colour over time.
Who is Laure Prouvost?
French artist Laure Prouvost has long been among the leading figures in contemporary art. She won the Turner Prize (2013), represented France at the Venice Biennale (2019), and will soon unveil a permanent installation at JFK Airport in New York (2026). Prouvost has presented solo exhibitions in major cities such as London, New York, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Melbourne. In 2026, she will open a major solo exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris.
In Belgium, her work can currently be seen in Kessenich (‘Moeder! Oui dream till the end’), near Brussels-South station (‘In your own time, tingalong, tingalong, Who’s been here since I’ve been gone?’) and on the beach of De Panne (‘Touching To Sea You Through Our Extremities’), a permanent work created for Beaufort21. Born in Lille, Prouvost lived for a time in London, now works from Molenbeek, and describes herself culturally as Flemish. She draws richly from her love of Belgian surrealism, British humour and language. Her fresco ‘The Whispering Walls Rêve’ (2026) for BRUSK is the first fresco in her oeuvre – and immediately one of her most monumental projects to date.
