CRAFTED FROM PLATE STEEL, WELDED TOGETHER WITH 112 FACETS, AND INDIVIDUALLY POLISHED AND PATINATED WITH FIRE, THE ZOUMEY SCULPTURE STANDS AS A TESTAMENT TO THE ARTISTIC SKILLS OF ARNO DECLERCQ'S ATELIERS. DEVELOPED AND CREATED BETWEEN JANUARY AND MARCH OF 2024, EACH FACET BEARS THE MARK OF CRAFTSMANSHIP.

INSPIRED BY HIS PREVIOUS WORKS AND ROOTED IN THE FOUNDATIONAL ZOUMEY TABLES, ARNO EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY TO MAGNIFY THE FORM INTO VOLUMINOUS SCULPTURE, DELIBERATELY STRIPPING AWAY STABILITY WHILE RETAINING A PLAYFUL DANCE WITH GRAVITY.

THE NAME "ZOUMEY" FINDS RESONANCE ACROSS ARNO'S OEUVRE, PREDOMINANTLY MADE IN IROKO WOOD SOURCED FROM BENIN, WEST AFRICA. THIS WOOD, DISCOVERED DURING TRAVELS WITH HIS FATHER AMIDST THE RICH HISTORY OF VOODOO ARTS, HOLDS A PROFOUND SIGNIFICANCE. IT EPITOMIZES A CULTURE DEEPLY ENTWINED WITH NATURE AND SPIRITS, SHAPING THE ESSENCE OF DAILY EXISTENCE FOR THE LOCAL POPULACE.

IN THE HEART OF BENIN, THE TERM "ZOUMEY" TRANSCENDS MERE NOMENCLATURE; IT SYMBOLIZES THE DENSE, MYSTICAL FORESTS OF IROKO TREES. WITNESSING THE HARVESTED TIMBER AMASSED IN COLOSSAL PILES, ARNO FOUND HIMSELF CAPTIVATED BY THE ORGANIC, ALMOST SURREAL SCULPTURES IT INADVERTENTLY FORMED. HUMBLE IN ITS SILENCE, YET POSSESSING A RAW, UNYIELDING BEAUTY, THESE SHAPES EMBODIED PERFECT EQUILIBRIUM AMIDST THE CHAOS OF NATURE.

THE ZOUMEY SCULPTURE, THUS, EMERGES NOT ONLY AS A MANIFESTATION OF ARTISTIC VISION BUT ALSO AS A HOMAGE TO THE HARMONIOUS INTERPLAY BETWEEN CULTURE, NATURE, AND SPIRIT THAT RESONATES THROUGH ARNO DECLERCQ'S CAPTIVATING CREATIONS.