in situ drawings
chalk and carving
2024 Long ago, there was a nomadic people called the belly gardeners. Because it was a time of many plant-thieves, they started to grow food in their own bellies. They believed that the plants gave more fruit because they grew close to their hunger. The belly gardeners walked with their bellies towards the sun to provide the plants with all the sunlight and rainwater for optimal growth. In dry periods you could see them floating in the canal.

For the occasion of a Performative Guided Tour on open monument day in Leuven, I created the myth and drawings of the belly gardeners. The drawings were made in the public space around the Mills of Orshoven.

The Performative Guided Tours were lead by Erik Kamaletdinov.

More information about the tour:

“Along the theme All the ways lead to Leuven, the guided tour will start as a conventional tour, and gradually drift towards something imaginary or unsettling, at the edge of what can be considered reliable or factual. This will be an imaginary promenade, slightly fast-paced, described through the eyes of a performer that makes-up the reality surrounding them. The walk draws inspiration from the 1972 book Invisible Cities, by Italian writer Italo Calvino and the concept of Strollology. Strollology or Promenadology is the science of strolling as a method in the field of aesthetics and cultural studies with the aim of becoming aware of the conditions of perception of the environment and enhancement of environmental perception. Thanks to the unique location around the Vaartkom, along the canal and places of fermentation, such as the breweries, the promenade links the practice of artists with that of the historical monuments.” - text by Arthur Cordier

© 2025 Lieselotte Vloeberghs