The commission

The members of the Hommelet Neighbourhood committee in Roubaix had noticed that the local community was veering more and more towards a more marked communitarianism, reinforced by the urban organisation of the neighbourhood that has no centre but is composed of different areas separated by roads, public buildings and industrial wasteland. The local inhabitants wanted a project that would symbolically bring the community to "do something together", a project around an artwork.
The commissioning group wanted to highlight their neighbourhood with a "totem" work to indicate a convivial space in the heart of the neighbourhood.

The artwork

After several meetings between Wim Delvoye and the commissioners, it was decided that the work should represent universal values. The theme of sport was considered the most appropriate in this rather cosmopolitan neighbourhood. The figure of the Discobolus of Miron that the artist "twisted" has become the new symbol of the neighbourhood.

The artist

The Belgian artist, Wim Delvoye, works on juxtaposing ideas and contrasting worlds. Through his works, he explores received ideas about Walt Disney or Delft, and re-appropriates them. The apparent absurdity of his artworks hides an extremely rigorous work process linking the worlds of art and science, confronting the trivial with the religious and political. A trip to Tate Modern organised by artconnexion enabled the commissioners to learn more about Wim Delvoye's work, and contemporary art in general, and opened up new ideas for their project.