Arbre des Tropiques

• Date 1986
• Address Amsterdam (Netherlands)

In 1986, Charles Vandenhove was approached by the director and actor Jan Ritsema to design the set for a play at the Bellevue Theatre in Amsterdam. Yukio Mishima’s play, ‘The Tree of the Tropics’, a drama set in ancient Greece, would be a good fit for Vandenhove’s work.

For this particular commission, the Liège-based architect proposed a space enclosed by walls entirely covered in a grid pattern and pierced by four doors, the design of which fits perfectly with his signature style. On the floor, black and white stripes follow one another in a regular pattern. At the centre of the perfectly symmetrical space, a spiral staircase rises to meet the ceiling. In the foreground, an altar and a column stand before four obelisks, forming a composition that complements the actors’ performance. In addition to the set design commission, the architect has also been entrusted with designing the various costumes worn by the actors.

• Description of the collection

  A box of photographs.

• Bibliography

  BEKAERT, Geert, Charles Vandenhove 1985–1995, Rotterdam, Nai uitgevers/publishers, 1994, pp. 80 and 190

• AUTHOR AND DATE OF THE ENTRY Sébastien Charlier, 2022