"There is more in life than just work but
as my work comes to life, ENJOY IT!"
I conceive and create 'automata' . These are purely mechanical storytelling machines. I make mine with recycled wood, polished old copper, and a tickling sense of humor. Every single one of these automata understands how powerful poetry can be. Without a single word. They only creak, they grind, and they squeak.
(personally, I think that is a beautiful sound).
Because they speak without words, I can tour internationally with them. People understand them everywhere, from Madrid in the south, along the Thames in London or the Danube in Budapest, to somewhere among the Norwegian fjords. Everywhere.
From east to west. Young and old. Quite fascinating.
Besides my work as an automata maker, I also write. I sing, I draw, I create scenographies and site-specific theatre. The press once described me as 'Homo Universalis' . That sounds a bit too pretentious and too much like Leonardo Da Vinci to me. Okay, they also called me a 'jack-of-all-trades' , which I personally find a downright ridiculous description. If you really want to pigeonhole my versatility: call me a storyteller. Because that is what I am, in everything I do.
THE GIUPETTO OF BORGERHOUT
Photographer Raymond Mallentjer once joined me in my Borgerhout studio for a day while I focused on new automata. These are a few of his photos, as well as a glimpse of my workspace that Gazet van Antwerpen described as the studio of 'Giupetto of Borgerhout'.
The smallest museum in Belgium (and far beyond) is
celebrating its 5th anniversary!
September 25, 2026 will mark exactly five years since the 24/7 AUTOMATA Street Museum in Borgerhout opened its doors. Well, opened the doors... As a visitor, you stand outside on the street and can bring one of my automata inside to life using a lever. So, five years already, accessible 24/7. Day and night...
MUSIC
RELEASE OF A NEW SONG: 'BROTHER (BROER)'
END OF APRIL 2026
T.S. Eliot already knew it in the opening line of 'The Waste Land': April is the most horrible month... Both my parents passed away at the end of April, exactly one year apart, both on the 28th. But on the 30th of 2020, my world truly came to a complete standstill... That day, my brother passed away totally unexpectedly. Went to sleep in a good mood, never woke up again. Shit happens. My brother is/was Tom Hautekiet, KIET to his friends: the famous graphic designer who for years provided the posters, stages, and tents of Rock Werchter with cheerful colors. He also designed for Zita Swoon, Bart Peeters, De Roovers, Sporza, Radio 1... You are bound to come across his work somewhere. I wrote a song – BROER – about what it is like to be a brother left behind: "A hole. A crack. In chest and core. So big, so deep that my whole brother just barely fits inside." I thought, I will release it at the end of April, in remembrance. Well, two days later my mother died.... T.C. Eliot was really right.