The Work of the Forest at the Opening of KANAL–Centre Pompidou
Opening November 28, 2026 A truly immense journey
KANAL–Centre Pompidou
Sainctelette Square 21
1000 Brussels, Belgium Judith Barry’s The Work of the Forest (1992) will be presented at KANAL–Centre Pompidou in Brussels as part of A truly immense journey, one of the inaugural exhibitions marking the opening of the new museum on 28 November 2026. Acquired by KANAL in 2024, the installation is now part of the museum’s collection.
The presentation marks a significant return to Brussels for the work. The Work of the Forest was first exhibited at the Fondation pour l’Architecture in Brussels in 1992, and was shown again in the city in 2023 as part of STYLE CONGO: Heritage & Heresy at CIVA.
A three-channel video and sound installation structured around transparent Art Nouveau screens, The Work of the Forest brings together seemingly conflicting histories of African art, the Belgian Congo and Art Nouveau. Drawing on Marcel Proust’s notion of the “whirling room,” Barry created a panoramic environment in which multiple viewpoints and competing narratives can unfold simultaneously. Rather than offering a single authoritative perspective, the installation asks the viewer to move between different positions, histories and ways of seeing.
The work’s return to Brussels takes on particular resonance within KANAL. Art Nouveau remains central to the cultural identity of the city, while its historical relationship to Belgium’s colonial project is far less frequently addressed. The Work of the Forest places those histories in direct relation, a connection that has been central to the work since its creation more than three decades ago.
A truly immense journey opens at KANAL–Centre Pompidou on 28 November 2026 and continues through 10 January 2028.
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