Research report: Second visit to Bavikhove (Karolina Michalik)

With her project perpendicular parallels (as part of Veldwerk II), Karolina Michalik asks questions about labour migration within the agricultural sector and the connections it creates between different places. Starting from mushroom farms in Flanders, which often rely on the hands of Polish seasonal workers, she is guided by themes of individual and collective (embodied) knowledge, hobbies, myths, and our complex relationship with the landscape. Read more about this project here.

For several weeks now, I have been planning intuitive visits to Bavikhove, the West Flemish town where a large mushroom factory caught my attention. On their website, they describe how their mushrooms are picked by gentle female hands and how important that is for this fragile work. I try not to plan anything or have any pre-set goals, in order to see the place through the eyes of an outsider. My notes treat situations and experiences as data without any projections on my part.

We arrive in Bavikhove by a similar route as last time: cycling from Kortrijk along the river until the mushroom farm. There is a crossroads that leads into the town. As we approach the centre, the town seems just as empty and quiet as last time. The only difference this time is the flags hanging from the windows of some of the sleepy houses. It is only when we approach the street of the church and school that we see barriers set up and people passing by. There are a couple of bars open with outdoor seating and two bouncy castles for children. On the main square in front of the church, there is a large stage set up and behind it a small theme park with one large ride that spins like the hands of a clock, a small carousel, bumper cars, two trailers with games and prizes, and one chip stand. There are loud screams from the spinning ride mixed with music blasting from speakers and the sounds of games being won and lost. There are not very many people, mostly children playing with games set up for them and people sitting at bars. After spending some time in the main square, we go further from the centre to the nature reserve where the men were cutting grass last time. The streets are empty as before, the loud sounds of the festivities fade and lightly echo through the empty streets. We pass the mushroom farm but all of the garage doors are closed. As we make our way back towards the town the sound tests for the concerts overlap with the chiming of the church bells. We pass the main square towards what looks like the local dance hall. We come into what looks like a school gymnasium, where some school celebration is finishing up. There are round tables set up and on the other side there are teenagers dancing on tables in the background of men who are folding up tables and benches to put them into storage. There is loud music and the DJ plays his last song. Everyone is invited to continue the celebration at the main square where concerts are scheduled to begin. In the main square there are now more people than before, gathered in front of the stage. The concert begins, and behind the stage the rides continue. Cycling away from the centre through the mostly empty streets, the sounds of the concert fade.