What Is CasAnus?
As if my time wandering around the Verbeke Foundation wasn’t strange enough, when the day ended and the museum closed, I was left to spend the night in one of the museum exhibits: CasAnus.
CasAnus viewed from the front
Side view of CasAnus
The Verbeke Foundation
This outdoor sculpture of a digestive tract created by Dutch artist Atelier Van Lieshout contains a living space inside. And that night, I would be crawling up inside it. As Geert Verbeke put it, I would be staying inside an exhibit inside a museum. In a sense, I would become a museum exhibit myself!
It reminded me of the time I heard artist Jonathan Harris speak. He told a story of his months living by himself in a small green house in Iceland. I don’t remember why, but people seemed to think this green house was a museum and he’d often see them peeking through the windows at him. I wondered if that might happen to me since the windows in CasAnus had no coverings. Plus, this was an actual museum exhibit.
But the museum was closed, so that didn’t happen. There were no people walking around, which created a sense of peacefulness. No TV, no people, no distractions at all. Just white textured walls and a comfortable bed. I enjoyed a night of pure solitude.
Inside CasAnus
CasAnus does have a shower, sink and toilet. You CAN expel your own waste within this intestine!
It felt a little like camping, without the dew. Just me and nature — separated by an intestinal lining.
Poop Jokes
It gave me plenty of time to think up digestive humor. For instance, the phrase, “something crawled up inside me and died” kept running through my head. My husband said the place should have been empty except for a stool. (ha ha) If I had gotten scared, we could have said something scared the crap out of CasAnus. (Of course, then I’d be calling myself crap, but these are the rambling thoughts that went through my mind before I drifted off to sleep.)
CasAnus was undoubtedly the most unusual place I’ve ever stayed. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved having the museum all to myself. A big THANK YOU to the Verbeke Foundation for hosting me!
You probably had some digestive humor go through your own mind as you read this. Feel free to share it here. You know you want to! 🙂
Browsing The Atlas 
Okay, that side view is just gross, haha! But the inside was surprisingly clean and cozy looking. You really had me cracking up throughout this entire post – you are one of a kind!
Thanks, Letizia. 🙂 I loved the interior, too. If I hadn’t seen the outside, it would have made me think of an ice cave or something.
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Could only be the low countries, at least it wasn’t a dump
Good one. 🙂
I am reeling from that stool pun. (I wanted to say “thanks for dumping that stool pun on us but I spared you.)
I don’t know how you could resist saying it. After all, I asked for it. 🙂
🙂
Wow Juliann! Now that’s what I call a unique experience! Not many people can say they did that. The inside looks pretty cool … better than the outside. 🙂 ~Terri
I loved the interior. I like cozy spaces and all the whiteness and odd shape of the structure was perfect for me. If anyone had looked in the window, they would have seen a woman blissfully sleeping.
That’s an inside view, Juliann. 😉
Yes, it is. 🙂
This definitely takes meta to a whole new level and in a sense is a bit like performance art since as you said, you essentially became part of the exhibit (at least for a night). I was giggling inappropriately to myself throughout this post but I’m glad the inside was so nice!
I loved it. Such a cozy white space. And I loved the roundness of it. It was a little cave-like.
I can’t stop laughing at everything about this post, but especially that photo of the side view! What an, erm, memorable experience!
I almost wish I’d had to climb in that way. Or would have had to squeeze out that way. Wouldn’t that have been fun. 🙂
“Just me and nature — separated by an intestinal lining.” LOL! You’re the best. Okay, the inside is actually really great. However the outside…hell no! : )
Seems like the owner of this gut ate plenty of fiber. It was clean as a whistle! 🙂
LOL! Stop it, you’re killing me. : )
Oh, No, you didn’t! Lol, you GO girl… you know when you gotta go, you gotta go…
you are amazing!
♥♥♥ ;^)
Ha ha. That made me chuckle.;)
This would make a “member-able” commercial for people suffering frommm IBS
LOL. Yes, it would. 🙂
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wow!