When Paper Turns to Petals

For the biennial Flowertime exhibition in Brussels, Nele Ost transformed the former office of Mayor Philippe Close into a surreal dialogue between past and present. Inspired by Belgium’s surrealist tradition, the installation built a towering landscape of forgotten archives and official papers, slowly overtaken by wild blooms and untamed greenery.

What was once a seat of bureaucracy became a stage where nature reclaimed order, blurring the lines between history, imagination, and growth. It was both a homage to the heritage of the city and a quiet reminder: no matter how many documents are written, nature always finds a way to write its own story.