Objets Trouvés
Koen Broucke is a centipede. Not really, of course. It's a Dutch expression, meaning that Koen does many different things and does them well. He has a penchant for drawing volcanos, playing the piano and writing stories. He creates make-believe characters that do odd but realistic things. Then he films them in enigmatic settings. His paintings and drawings are internationally acclaimed in the Art (with capital "A") circuit and can be seen at expositions, in museums and sometimes in theatres (just to confuse you). He has an awesome studio where you can see his mental machinations at work. Koen Broucke is also a polar bear. He likes swimming in ice-cold water. He rides his bike and buys old books where he finds much of his inspiration. That makes a book worm, too.
Aliki and Malvina noticed straight off that Koen has a particular liking for animals. He told them the story of the t-shirt with a lion printed on it, that his mother gave him as a kid. He felt as proud and as bold as the Lion on his chest. He's now long grown out of that shirt but has been meaning to share that Lion feeling ever since. But how? Was he going to start painting kids' tees? And since he's an established artist, how was he going to make his animals accessible to the world at large? That's where Chicken Rhythm comes into the picture.
Koen figured that he needed a place where he could showcase all the things he came up with that didn't necessarily fit into his oeuvre. With his dedicated counterpart Natalie Braine he came up with Objets Trouvés. It literally means "found objects" and it's a place where they find, rediscover and rearrange stuff. Mainly, where they can go beyond the boundaries of the art circuit. Right now it's the place where he can paint animals and have Aliki and Malvina print them on t-shirts for children.
