Former church becomes an menagerie for animal sculptures

Former Leffinge church becomes temple of art

After the creation of K.E.R.K. in Sint-Pieters-Kapelle, Leffinge's former church is also getting an artful fillip. None other than William Sweetlove is organising a retrospective of his work there from 7 April.

William Sweetlove lives and works in Oostduinkerke. His most characteristic works are large animal sculptures in plastic in distinct colours. The style is typical of his membership of the renowned Cracking Art Group, an artists' collective that aims to make sustainable art with unsustainable materials, especially plastic. But his oeuvre goes far beyond that. He makes fantastic canvases and photo manipulations. The imposing church of Leffinge will now be the setting for a spacious retrospective of this colourful artist of world renown.

Many Middelkerk churches are empty after the reform of the worship services. At the start of this policy period, the town council decided to look for sustainable repurposing of these buildings. Thanks to the spacious nature of the churches, they soon looked in the direction of the art sector. The pioneer was Nick Ervinck who set up a permanent art platform in the former Sint-Pieters-Kapelle church. Leffinge's former church has been empty for some time. By the way, during the Leffingeleuren music festival, it has been a third stage for quiet bands for several years.

The exhibition opens on 7 April and runs until after the summer. Middelkerke will communicate more details about the programme in the coming weeks.

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