Hans Ulrich Obrist on the Vatican Pavilion

Hans Ulrich Obrist, the renowned curator, has dedicated the Vatican Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale to the medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen. The exhibition, titled "The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul," features a walkable sound garden created with the Soundwalk Collective, designed as a space for listening, meditation, and inner reflection. In a Monopol podcast interview, Obrist discusses the project's origins, Hildegard's holistic thinking, and contributions from artists including Patti Smith, Jim Jarmusch, Brian Eno, Meredith Monk, FKA twigs, and Blood Orange. The episode also covers the final work of the recently deceased Alexander Kluge, shown in a former monastery complex in Venice.

This article matters because it highlights how a major international art event like the Venice Biennale can incorporate contemplative, spiritual spaces that counterbalance the fair's typical commercial and sensory overload. By centering a medieval figure's integrated worldview—uniting mind and body, humanity and nature, art and science—Obrist's project speaks to contemporary concerns about fragmentation and the need for deep listening. It also underscores the Vatican's ongoing engagement with contemporary art and the power of sound installations to create immersive, transformative experiences.