Wandering and organising the pockets of a dismantled coat, with Théodora Jacobs
Workshop & presentation, Prototypes pour un colportage pirate , ERG, 17.01 — 19.01

Thanks to Alexia de Visscher, Alice Néron & Léonard Mabille

After walking the streets of Liège for three days at the end of May (2023), the coat collection was on display in the window of 29 rue de L’université for three months during the Art au Centre exhibition tour.

The portfolio was inspired by Ferdinand Vander Haeghen (1830-1913), librarian at Ghent’s university library known as the ’Boekentoren’ (tower of books). Under the name ’Vliegende bladen’, he put together a unique collection of loose leaves gleaned from the streets of Ghent in the early 20th century. Legend has it that he had a jacket with multiple pockets, each corresponding to a letter of the alphabet, enabling him to organise his finds directly as he walked.

At the entrance to the Boekentoren there is a plaque quoting him: ’Never destroy a document, printed or written, no matter how insignificant.After 7 years, it will be of interest to you. After another 7 years, you will find it worth keeping. 20 years later, it will be useful and valuable.In less than a century it will become precious.’

What does the future hold for this coat and the collection it houses? What does la portefeuille has to say about the papers that have been gathered once it is no longer worn?How can we tell the story of the encounters that took place? How can we pass on and create stories with these papers collected during the attempts to file them?

With these questions in mind, we are in the process of transforming the coat into a book. Today we invite you to classify the loose leaves we collected with us. The pockets have become (future) pages and are displayed around us.