The Japanese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale surprises visitors with an interactive installation in which the visitor is the key element.
Everyone can participate by carrying a small doll representing a baby weighing approximately five kilograms (selection is entirely random). The journey begins on the first floor, where one can change the doll's diaper and receive a poem as a reward; visitors then move through various installations featuring objects related to child-rearing, before finally returning the doll upon leaving the pavilion.
This participatory performance draws inspiration from work historically entrusted to women: the choice of whether or not to carry the doll conveys love, enthusiasm, and the dilemmas of parenthood, as well as the decision regarding whether or not to have a child.
The artist, who identifies as queer, aims to open a dialogue on motherhood, oocyte donation, reproductive rights, labor policies, and the history of armed conflicts that have claimed the lives of thousands of children.
In short, Grass Babies, Moon Babies offers a participatory experience that transforms a seemingly simple act into a critical reflection on caregiving, motherhood, reproductive autonomy, and collective responsibility. By physically involving the visitor, the work moves beyond passive contemplation, inviting them to confront the emotional, social, and political dimensions of child-rearing and the memory of childhoods impacted by violence.
Grass Babies, Moon Babies, by Ei Arakawa-Nash (2026)
Japan Pavilion – Venice Biennale
- 5:56 p.m.
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