2014–2016

La Phrase, Mons

To mark Mons 2015, European Capital of Culture, Karelle Ménine, an author and literary artist, launched an original project titled “La Phrase,” which she hoped to carry out with Ruedi Baur. To write, in the heart of the city of Mons, a 10-kilometer-long sentence drawn from a corpus of works by authors from Mons, then from Hainaut, Belgium, and finally from around the world. Taking words out of books, giving them fresh air, this long sentence highlights the richness and originality of the writings. It inscribes literature onto the landscape and proposes a new literary space. The sentence, written entirely in capital letters, begins at the Mons train station, welcoming visitors. After winding through the city, it leads them back to the same spot and concludes with a period. If one could see it from the sky, the phrase would form a strange figure, each part of which connects to the Grand-Place and stretches toward the city’s various neighborhoods. The words are positioned on walls and sidewalks, responding to the textures, the shapes of the bricks, the windows, and the street corners. This project is a year-long work in progress. Each day, a segment of the phrase is painted by three lettering artists accompanied by their trailer. The Phrase thus progresses at its own pace, from mid-December 2014 to mid-December 2015. The writing on the facade is inscribed in ink on a white protective film; the writing on the ground is done in paint.

Design team — graphic design by Ruedi Baur and Anouck Fenech
Author — Karelle Ménine
Lettering artists — Iona Suzuki, Camille De Barbuat, and Renaud Fouchet