Beneath the paving stones, the beach

The value of land is often determined by the financial price at which it can be traded; other values ​​are usually secondary. In the well-trodden ground beneath our feet, often hidden under paving stones, asphalt, and structures, lives soil life, but stories and histories are also stored within it.

In the exhibition, what lives beneath the pavement is also connected to a deeper and more poetic meaning of the concept of ‘soil’, namely as the carrier of those stories.

'Beneath the paving stones, the beach' is the latest project by Vloed, which since 2023 has aimed to offer space and opportunities to artists and makers to conduct research and present their work. Vloed creates thematic exhibitions and organizes public programs and reflective sessions. The title of the exhibition comes from ‘Sous les pavés, la plage’, the famous slogan of the French student protests in the 1960s. The pavement represented existing patterns, hard structures, and taken-for-granted assumptions; the beach symbolized freedom, relaxation, and play. The imagery serves as inspiration for the exhibition on display in Leiden.