Miet Warlop, the artist set to represent Belgium at the upcoming Venice Biennale, in conversation with musician Micha Volders.
During this event at TheMerode, Miet Warlop will reflect on her practice that moves fluidly between theatre, choreography and sculpture. Since Springville first brought her international attention, she has developed an artistic language shaped by movement, images and collective experience.
Joining her, Micha Volders will bring a sonic approach rooted in improvisation, texture and physical intensity. Together, they examine collaboration, process and the shifting territory where sound, image and performance intersect. Their ongoing exchanges underpin IT NEVER SSST, conceived as a living, musical sculpture activated daily during the Venice Biennale, drawing audiences into rhythm, motion and shared presence.
The evening will then continue at Ökēn, TheMerode’s cocktail bar, with a DJ set by Micha Volders and live VJing by Miet Warlop, extending the experience through sound, light and moving images.
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Miet Warlop is a visual artist who, over the past twenty years, has developed an innovative performative practice. She obtained a Master's degree in Visual Arts from KASK in Ghent and won the prize for young talent at Theater aan Zee in 2004. In 2014, she set up her own production structure: Miet Warlop / Irene Wool vzw. She was artist-in-residence at CAMPO, Ghent and Beursschouwburg, Brussels, and NTGent.
Interest in her visual work has grown remarkably in recent years, both nationally and internationally. In 2013, Warlop was invited by the Baltic Triennial (Vilnius) and Lisson Gallery (London). Artistic installations and interventions have been programmed by, among others, KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and BOZAR (Brussels). In the autumn of 2021, she was invited by WIELS as part of the transdisciplinary festival Indiscipline at the Casino in Knokke, and in 2023 she was invited to the Dhaka Art Summit.
Beyond her stage work, Warlop also creates performances, interventions, and live installations within visual art contexts and site-specific settings. Her work has been presented at Playground, Performatik, Kiosk, Bozar, Wiels/Indiscipline, KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Baltic Triennial (Vilnius), and the Dhaka Art Summit.
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Micha Volders is a musician, producer, filmmaker, and lecturer at PXL Music. He is active in projects such as Vermin Twins, GameboyzIImen, and Meteor Musik. His work focuses on the construction of autonomous sound worlds in which rhythm, texture, and repetition play a central role, often reinforced or extended through a strong visual component. Sound and image are treated as parallel systems rather than illustrative layers, allowing space for abstraction, friction, and ambiguity. He has produced albums for Gruppo Di Pawlowski, Whispering Sons, and The Germans, and collaborated with visual artist Miet Warlop, resulting in the album ICCHĀ. His inaugural and debut short film SǒN is currently touring international festivals and has received multiple prizes and distinctions, including Best Narrative Short at the Itaewon Film Festival and Best Original Score at the Wallachia International Film Festival. Volders is the founder of the labe Mutropia, through which he releases his work on vinyl.
