Koen Vanmechelen at the Belgian Embassy in Beijing: Cosmopolitan Fossil

On 2 April, the Belgian Embassy in Beijing inaugurated Cosmopolitan Fossil, a temporary bronze sculpture (220 cm) presented as part of the Embassy’s cultural programme. The installation introduces Chinese audiences to Vanmechelen’s exploration of biocultural diversity, hybridity, and humanity’s relationship with life and nature.

Max Recollecte, Public Diplomacy Counsellor, states:

“The Belgian Embassy is pleased to welcome Koen Vanmechelen for the inauguration of Cosmopolitan Fossil in our gardens. This striking artwork invites. reflection and curiosity, highlighting Belgium’s vibrant contribution to contemporary art and offering the public a chance to engage with one of our most admired artists.”

Dragon

Cosmopolitan Fossil depicts a child holding a powerful hybrid creature, part iguana, part dragon. Inspired by

Adriano Cecioni’s 19th-century plaster cast (Bambino con Gallo, Uffizi, Florence), Vanmechelen transforms

the original rooster into a hybrid, allowing human and animal to appear as independent expressions of a shared vital force.

The child leans back under the creature’s weight while the animal twists, alert and alive. This is not conquest but contact: a moment where control is uncertain, and balance must be carefully negotiated. The sculpture evokes the wonder of suddenly “holding life in your hands” and realizing it will not simply obey.

Meditation

Cosmopolitan Fossil embodies the fossil as a trace of deep time and the dragon as a symbol of longevity, protector from chaos, and mediator between heaven, earth, and humanity. At its core, the sculpture asks how humans and nature can coexist without turning connection into possession, highlighting curiosity, respect, and the challenge of maintaining equilibrium.

“Cosmopolitan Fossil is a meditation on balance, on holding life, feeling its weight, and understanding that true connection does not mean possession.”

— Koen Vanmechelen

EXHIBITION FACTS

Belgian Embassy, Beijing

Sanlitun Road 6, 100600, Chaoyang, Beijing, China

Temporary