The members of the Hommelet Neighbourhood committee in Roubaix had noticed that the local community was veering more and more towards a more marked communitarianism, reinforced by the urban organisation of the neighbourhood that has no centre but is composed of different areas separated by roads, public buildings and industrial wasteland. The local inhabitants wanted a project that would symbolically bring the community to "do something together", a project around an artwork.
The commissioning group wanted to indicate their neighbourhood with a "totem" work to highlight a convivial space in the heart of the neighbourhood.

To indicate the neighbourhood with a strong "totem" work it was decided, after several meetings between Wim Delvoye and the commissioners that the work should represent universal values. The theme of sport was considered the most appropriate in this rather cosmopolitan quarter. The figure of the Discobolus by Miron that the artist "twisted" has become the new symbol of the neighbourhood.

Wim Delvoye

The mediator suggested they work with the Belgian artist Wim Delvoye, who works on juxtaposing ideas and contrasting worlds. Through his works, Wim Delvoye explores received ideas about Walt Disney or Delft, and re-appropriates them. The apparent absurdity of his creations ("Cloaca" or "the Art Farm") hides an extremely rigorous work process linking the worlds of art and science, confronting the trivial with the religious and political. A trip to Tate Modern organised by artconnexion enabled the commissioners to learn more about Wim Delvoye's work and opened up new ideas for their project.