Bricoleurs Poétiques
A term coined by De Machienerie, perfectly capturing its essence.
Who is De Machienerie?
De Machienerie is a Belgian theatre company and construction workshop that develops visual installations, street theatre, and mechanical universes for public space.
From a strongly visual performance style, we build mobile worlds in which scenography, mechanics, circus, object manipulation, and audience experience merge into living images. Worlds that move, breathe, and unexpectedly emerge among people.
Our creations often stem from a fascination with nature — with animal movement, forgotten landscapes, and ecosystems that are slowly disappearing or transforming. What begins as a craft-based building process gradually evolves into a poetic universe in which humans, mechanics, and nature are in constant dialogue.
With De Machienerie, we deliberately explore the borderlands between circus, object theatre, mask theatre, puppet theatre, and visual installations. Not the classical circus with the acrobat at the centre, but rather the world around it: the atmosphere, the tension, the mystery, and the sense of wonder. A form of “circus outside the circus.”
The workshop forms the beating heart of our practice. From wood, steel, reclaimed materials, and artisanal techniques emerge mechanical animals, mobile constructions, masks, and scenographies that invite slowing down, looking, and getting lost.
Fauna, flora, and natural ecosystems are a continuous source of inspiration in our work. Without aiming to be didactic, we try through image, movement, and imagination to plant small seeds of wonder — moments in which our perception of nature and environment can briefly open up again.
Maarten Vandevelde Janssens is scenographer, maker, and artistic director of De Machienerie. With a background in circus arts, visual arts, and scenography, he has gradually developed his own artistic language — a universe in which craftsmanship, movement, objects, and imagination merge.
His journey began in Antwerp, where he helped found the circus school Ell Circo D’ell Fuego, before spending many years in France. There, he collaborated with various international theatre and circus companies, including La Machine, Royal de Luxe, and Théâtre La Licorne. These encounters sparked a deep fascination with circus as a universal language: a form of storytelling that resonates beyond words, age, or background.
Alongside scenography and visual theatre, Maarten has long explored mask-making, object manipulation, and visual performance. Through residencies and collaborations with artists such as Francis LeFebre and Samuel Petit, he refined a practice in which objects seem to carry a soul, and materials begin to whisper stories.
Music is also an essential part of his artistic world. Driven by a deep affinity for oriental sounds and instruments such as the duduk, he seeks a poetic language in which image, sound, and movement reinforce and complete one another.
With De Machienerie, Maarten creates worlds that feel both raw and poetic — spaces where theatre, circus, craftsmanship, and imagination come together. Worlds in which audiences of all ages are invited to look again with wonder, to wander, and to discover.
Our performance style
De Machienerie develops its own form of poetic street theatre in which installations are not mere scenery, but living performers within the whole. Our creations emerge at the intersection of theatre, scenography, circus, and mechanical visual language. We build worlds in which the audience does not only watch, but moves, discovers, and becomes part of the universe that unfolds.
An internationally
moving universe
De Machienerie is active in a wide range of festivals, cultural programming, and public projects in Belgium and abroad.
Our installations and performances have already toured through Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, and other European contexts.
Because of their mobile and flexible nature, our creations can continuously adapt to new places, new audiences, and new environments.
Our Values
At De Machienerie, a number of core values guide our work:
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imagination as a driving force for encounter
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craftsmanship and mechanical poetry
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sustainability, reuse, and long lifespan
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wonder for nature, fauna, and movement
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public space as a living playground
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slow discovery and attention to detail
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human interaction and collective experience
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artistic freedom and experimentation
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flexible creations that adapt to their context
Bricoleurs Poétiques
A term coined by De Machienerie, perfectly capturing its essence.
It is not an exact science, but a feeling.
A way of looking at objects, materials, movement, and stories.
A universe in which mechanics and poetry meet, and where imagination emerges from what already exists.
We hope our worlds invite visitors to slow down, to look, and to drift into reverie.
How an installation takes shape
Every creation by De Machienerie emerges from an encounter between material, mechanics, and imagination. Sometimes an installation begins with a found object, an animal movement, a mechanical detail, or a lingering image from nature. From the workshop, these first fragments slowly grow into their own universe, where scenography, construction, performance, and audience experience come together.
Many installations are built from reclaimed materials and elements with a previous life. Through collecting, repairing, and recombining, a visual language emerges in which craftsmanship and transformation take centre stage. Nature remains a lasting source of inspiration — in movement, rhythm, behaviour, and fragility. Each creation continues to evolve along the way, in relation to the space, the audience, and the context in which it appears.
Countless adventurers
De Machienerie is a universe that people feel deeply drawn into — they come on board, sail along wild routes, and eventually land somewhere else to continue their journey or to brave new and unknown horizons.
We would like to acknowledge some of the many adventurers who have sailed alongside us and have since moved on to other wild territories.
A heartfelt thank you for helping De Machienerie grow: Joris Janssens (co-author of several installations), Lien Vanbossele, Ronny Lemmens, Rani Gregoire, Louis Altorri, Geertje Van Genechten, Lina Matthijs, Lisa Pattoor, Stefan Gevaert, Saskia Steemeyer, Claire Dancoine, Marie Van Couwenberg, Britt Tack, Lio Verdonck, Bert Loenders, Geert Goddelaine, Anne Elst, Jason Van Lith, Joris Simkens, and so many others.
Special thanks to Sandra and Carlos — the great Mexicans. They will forever remain in our hearts, and the door is ALWAYS, truly ALWAYS open for them. We love you.
Partners & Co-productions
De Machienerie operates across festivals, cultural programming, public space, and international collaborations.
Over the years, our creations have grown in dialogue with partners, co-productions, and performance venues in Belgium and abroad.
These encounters form an essential part of our practice: each location, context, and collaboration adds new layers to the work.
Anyone who recognises themselves in this kind of trajectory, or who wishes to explore a potential collaboration, is warmly invited to get in touch.
Ready to enter this world?
We would be happy to discuss how this performance could be integrated into your programme, festival, or public context.
Each De Machienerie performance emerges in relation to its location, its audience, and the way the performance unfolds within the space. Together, we look for the right conditions in which the work can fully come into its own.
Leave your details, and we will be happy to explore how this performance could find its place within your programme.
