Béatrice Balcou – Placebos, 2014-2026

Béatrice Balcou’s Placebos are carved wooden counterparts to works by other artists. Originally made as rehearsal objects for her Untitled Ceremonies, they allow her to develop the gestures required to handle the original artworks. In these live ceremonies, Balcou slowly unpacks, handles and repacks artworks, transforming routine conservation procedures into acts of sustained attention. Over time, the placebos have acquired an autonomous presence, questioning distinctions between original and copy, preparation and performance. During the Biennale, Balcou will perform an Untitled Ceremony. Together, the placebos and the ceremony reveal the practices of care through which artworks are preserved and shared.

Béatrice Balcou’s sculptures and performances appear as relational forms. Through carefully choreographed actions and dispositifs, often involving works produced by other artists, she brings into focus the conditions of display, attention and care that surround artistic production. By attending to the life of artworks across time and space, her practice challenges accelerated modes of consumption, reaffirming art as a collective experience and as a vehicle for ritual.