Transmutation is a series of nine films, created in collaboration between Bêka & Lemoine and Rotor – the renowned Brussels-based collective working with architecture, ecology, and reuse. The films were recorded at nine industrial sites within a 200 km radius of Brussels and observe the cycles of materials in the contemporary economy. They address questions such as the impact of industrial activity on the landscape, the processes that transform materials, and how industry produces and manages its waste.
The film is a meditative visual essay on the ongoing transformation of matter and landscape along the industrial corridor of Northwestern Europe. It explores a region shaped by a long-standing legacy of heavy industry within a 200 km radius of Brussels, spanning parts of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. It depicts sites where materials are extracted, processed, reused, or discarded.
Transmutation reflects on the scale and presence of industrial activity, how material flows affect the landscape, and the often unexpected continued use of infrastructures shaped through cycles of industrialization and decline.
The films were produced in connection with the exhibition Rotor. Entangled Matter, shown at Bozar – Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels and organized by A+ Architecture (October 2024 – January 2025).