“A pull of soul”: a space in memory of those lost by Covid

This Tuesday, October 1, 2024, the municipal authorities inaugurated the space and support dedicated to victims of Covid-19. This ceremony takes place as part of a project initiated at the time of the pandemic which had confined the entire society to stay at home despite the deaths which affected it in number. The Mayor of Tournai had charged Jacky Legge and Julien Foucart, two cultural actors, with finding a place and support to try to experience mourning differently.

The location that was chosen quickly stood out: the Alphonse Willocq space in Mont-Saint-Aubert. On one side, it faces a very broad landscape combining the local hills, the town and the vast quarries of Gaurain-Ramecroix. On the other side, the small park is delimited by a green curtain. The chosen space is both open and closed depending on the position of the person who comes to meditate.

After an architectural competition, Agnès Mory and Barbara Noirhomme were chosen by the jury. They integrated into the space and the support a poetic sentence by Violaine Lison, written expressly for the occasion. The integration of these words reinforces the poetic character of Mont-Saint-Aubert.

“A tire of soul” must now generate a spirit of place adapted to all and adopted by each and every one.