Last year the town of Izegem (West Flanders) decided to commission a monument to commemorate the pandemic. Local sculptor Piet Duthoit was entrusted with the work. Today the sculpture is finished but the inauguration ceremony has had to be postponed due to the new coronavirus wave.
“We don’t want anybody to catch coronavirus at an event that is supposed to emphasize the enormous impact the pandemic has had” says alderman Kurt Himpe.
Even if precautionary measures are observed, like the Covid Safe Ticket and masking, Izegem’s city fathers and mothers don’t feel confident enough to stage the inauguration just yet.
A proper unveiling with a moment of reflection can’t go ahead right now.
“You just don’t know how many people will want to attend” says alderman Himpe. “We prefer to wait rather than see large crowds and the need to take intrusive security measures to keep everybody safe”.
Sculptor Piet Duthoit employed bluestone to create his work that symbolises ‘the feeling of being kept prisoner’.
Today Duthoit’s work still stands in his studio but will eventually be moved to a location at Blauwhuis Castle, a park frequented by many of the people of Izegem during the pandemic.
Speaking of Coronavirus… No one knows the damned virus better than Noel Berry:-
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