Chaos, ritual and movement: Miet Warlop represents Belgium at the Venice Biennale
Performance art takes centre stage in the Belgian pavilion at the Venice Biennale for the first time, marking a significant moment both for the pavilion and for the career of Flemish artist Miet Warlop. The exhibition, curated by Caroline Dumalin, was presented on Wednesday in Brussels in the presence of Flemish minister of culture Caroline Gennez, ahead of the pavilion’s opening on 6 May.
Warlop brings nearly two decades of interdisciplinary practice to Venice. Her work consistently moves between theatre, dance, text, music and sculpture, and her performance of It Never SSST continues that hybrid approach, blurring the boundaries between exhibition and live action.
“It never stops. It never comes to a standstill.”
The title gestures towards a world in constant motion, shaped by pressure, instability and a refusal to stand still. While the full performance will only unfold during the Biennale itself, elements of its physical language are already clear. Plaster words will circulate through the pavilion space, carried, dragged, passed on and ultimately broken, as language itself becomes something fragile and strained.
Seven figures inhabit this world: six performers and one sculptor, bringing together Belgian musicians and Italian dancers who, as Warlop describes it, “move through a turbulent time and a spreading doom.” Through repetitive, often absurd rituals, they attempt to keep momentum alive. “It’s a cryptic title to say that it’s not stopping, we don’t know where it’s going. And that connection is needed,” Warlop said.
An artwork for chaotic times
For curator Caroline Dumalin, the work reflects a society that no longer pauses. “It never stops. It never comes to a standstill.” She describes the project as daring and immersive, well-suited to a Biennale that thrives on discovery. “Visitors move from pavilion to pavilion, discovering something new. Performance art has an advantage in that respect. Moreover, Miet Warlop’s work resonates with people. It draws you in.”
Gennez echoed that sense of urgency, pointing to the relevance of Warlop’s themes. “We live in a time where brute force and intimidation reign supreme. People seek solace. And then there are people like Miet Warlop, whose work puts her finger on the sore spot (…) and thus expresses the chaos that surrounds us.”
The jury that selected the project praised its layered approach, describing it as a proposal “that combines numerous narrative threads such as performance pressure within our society, language, rituals and rule-bending, which converge in a thrilling dramaturgy.”
The 61st Venice Biennale runs from 9 May to 22 November. It Never SSST will be performed for two weeks each month, with the installation remaining accessible in the pavilion at other times. In spring 2027, the work will travel to the newly opened Kanal–Centre Pompidou in Brussels, extending its restless momentum beyond Venice.
Last May, Warlop presented Inhale Delirium Exhale at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, an immersive experience that transforms the stage into a living, breathing force of nature as 6,500m of silk ripple across the stage.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO BEA BORGERS
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