Image by Ysabel Jongeneelen

A couple of years ago, when I lived in the north of the city – which is a relatively poor part of the city – there was one specific object that stole my heart. It was Pepto Bismo…

This extraordinary nice ‘Panamarenko’ lands on the corner of the Sint-Jansplein, which is the biggest square in Antwerp. Pepto Bismo is a statue of the strange Belgian artist Panamarenko, who’s called a great visionary. He was born in 1940 as Henri Van Herreweghe and choose his artistname from a combination of the Pan American Airlines and the Russian ending -enko.

Panamarenko is world famous for his scalemodels and drawings of bizarre spaceships, aircrafts and submarines. He donated Pepto Bismo in 2003 to the city and Pepto was placed in this poor neighbourhood where Panamarenko lived almost all his live.

A lot of people were surprised that a such a nice statue was placed in this ‘ghetto-area’ of Antwerp. And it was also placed on a low socle. Everybody thought that Pepto would be molested very soon.

But today he is still there. Shiny and unharmed. Pepto Bismo is a wonderful statue. He makes me happy. In the time I lived there, I had to pass Pepto Bismo every time when I went to the shops. I looked up to him many times. For me he represents believe and hope.

And what do you think… Is he taking off or landing?

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Pepto Bismo | Art & culture | Free
Sint Jansplein | Eilandje
24 hours daily