HIKER (map),

HIKER (map) is a 30 minute performance made for the exhibition weekend The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet, which took place in June 2025at Buda, an industrial zone at the intersection of Machelen, Brussels and Vilvoorde.

In the tall grass of an overgrown field, surrounded by old industry and with the Vilvoorde viaduct in the background, a hiker performed by Bavo Buys unfolds and negotiates with a map of 18m².
The clash of different cartographic approaches to the landscape on the map (a nautical chart with a sea monster, a parcel map, a topographic map, a cosmographic map…) invites different relationships with and perspectives on the environment. Maps can express both the magic and unknowability of an area, as well as represent land as property without intrinsic characteristics. Imagination and measurement flow into each other. Moreover, the map seems to influence the HIKER in how they look and move.

In 2026, HIKER will be developed into a full-length performance, which will premiere at Kaaitheater in November 2026.