PTEROSAURIER

For a branch of the Granada Gallery, located on the site of the five-star hotel Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp, I was asked to create a sculpture that would be suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. After some discussion, we decided it would be a pterosaur.

Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that belonged to the group of archosaurs — the same group that includes dinosaurs. They were the first vertebrate animals capable of active flight, and they included the largest flying creatures that ever lived. The largest known specimen had a wingspan of approximately 10 meters.

Contrary to popular belief, pterosaurs were not the ancestors of birds. Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs and lived alongside the pterosaurs.
There were many different species of pterosaurs, ranging from very small ones with a wingspan of less than half a meter, to giant forms that reached the size of a small airplane.

The sculpture I created for the Granada Gallery represents a fictional pterosaur — a species that never actually existed. I combined features from various types and selected elements I found visually and conceptually intriguing. The result is a unique composition that brings to life the fascinating diversity of these extinct creatures.