The cobblestones of Brussels’ Grand-Place have been transformed into a vibrant floral display as the Belgian capital celebrates the 24th edition of its Flower Carpet, this year inspired by Japan.
Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama designed this year’s composition, a reinterpretation of Katsushika Hokusai's iconic woodblock print "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".
Using over 700,000 flowers, mostly dahlias—a Belgian floral classic—the design pays tribute to Hokusai's 200-year-old masterpiece. Sugiyama said the carpet brings a piece of contemporary Japanese culture to Belgium.
The Japanese artist spent eight months developing the design, and had initially planned to make the composition even more colourful, but explained he was limited to a palette of 16 colours due to time constraints.
"To be honest, at the beginning, I was pretty nervous about [the limited colours palette], but once I came here and saw the design and the flowers laid out, I was very excited and realised that I didn't need to worry about it at all, because it looks beautiful already," Sugiyama said.
