D+A Praline - love difference

D+A Praline



A delegation of the Doel Arts Village group went to La Spezia in Italy from 22 to 24 February to participate in the international pastries project initiated by Michelangelo Pistolleto's Love Difference movement. Through a range of sweets designed by international artists/confectioners, Love Difference seeks to "promote the dialogue among cultures" and "convey the concept of relationship and sharing as the basic elements to set up a pluralist society."

For this event, Doel Arts Village designed the Doel-e(a)t-Art praline, a delicacy which specifically evokes the situation of the village of Doel, a former polder village that is now situated right in the middle of the international port of Antwerp and that is threatened with demolition. The round praline exists in two versions, black and white, and it has a light blue filling wich evokes water. The black version, which still has the colour of the earth, symbolizes the old rural Doel; the white version refers to economic globalization and the port of Antwerp, which threaten to wipe Doel off the map. The ingenuity of the concept is that the praline also exists in halves and that the eater can join a black and a white half. With this symbolic gesture, the Doel Arts Village team wants to convey the message that the globalizing port of Antwerp and Doel arts village are not mutually exclusive, but that they can coexist in perfect harmony. The reconciliatory praline is therefore abbreviated D+A, Doel plus Antwerp.

For more information about the pastries project, visit the Love Difference website.