image from www.troubleyn.be

From a distance this design is nothing short of astonishing, beautiful, and just plain dramatic!  Though as you approach closer to this unusual ceiling application, you begin to realize that this is no wallcovering that you purchase by the double-roll.  Rather, you need 1.6 million Buprestidae Shells. (Beetles) At the Royal Palace in Brussels, this is how many Buprestidae beetle shells were glued to the ceiling designed by artist Jan Fabre, and installed with the help of his team of 30 beetle-gluers.

“The jewel beetles were obtained from universities and connections Fabre had in the open market. They are a non-protected species that are abundant in certain countries like Thailand where the beetle is fried and eaten. It took four months to complete.”

Jan Fabre said “As far as the ceiling is concerned, I first created a wide variety of forms and patterns by gluing beetles onto small surfaces. Then I told my 29 assistants that they could start inventing forms, knowing full well what they would come up with. This process allowed me to discover who was good at what type of pattern. Once I had this information, I could assign different areas of the ceiling to different assistants.”

image from www.troubleyn.be

image from www.troubleyn.be