Three Piles of Coal

But despite their obvious fragility objects made of eggshells and mussel shells at least have a definite physical form. Other works, such as Three Piles of Coal, or Sand Carpet, exist as ideas and have to be recreated for every exhibition.

Three Piles of Coal displayed in the middle of the Central Gallery is one of Broodthaers’s many works that in one way or another reflect on his country. Symbols of Belgium appear in a variety of forms. Mussels are one of the country’s favourite dishes; coal was the main fuel for Belgian economy in the nineteenth and twentieth century; many works feature the colours of the Belgian flag. Another central theme that he explores in large projects as well as in separate objects is the country’s colonial past.