At the 2026 Biennale Arte, titled In Minor Keys, one of the pavilions well worth a visit is Poland's, curated by Ewa Chomicka and Jolanta Woszczenko, titled Liquid Tongues. It is a video installation created by Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski, a deaf artist. Inside, visitors find two large screens showing two videos that loop throughout the day: one is on a wall, the other is on the opposite side but placed near the ceiling, and can only be viewed comfortably by lying down.
The two videos, which are therefore practically impossible to watch at the same time, are nonetheless synchronized with one another, showing different points of view of the same actions, in particular a choreography by the Chór w Ruchu (Choir in Motion), whose members include both hearing and deaf people. Starting from the premise that underwater there is no difference between hearing and deaf people, the piece stages a performance of songs, dances, gestures and coordinated movements above and below the water's surface, exploring how living species communicate — not only human beings but whales as well.
Images and sounds are perfectly combined to convey a sense of total immersion in an amphibious environment: letting oneself be lulled by songs, sounds, silence and acoustic waves, one senses a search for a universal system of communication with ancient roots. In this moving installation, one grasps the idea that deafness is not an insurmountable barrier, but an alternative — yet coordinated — communicative culture alongside that of sound.
The Liquid Tongues pavilion at the Biennale will be open to visitors until November 22, 2026.