Aline Bouvy: La Merde

The Luxembourg Pavilion at the 61st International Venice Biennale is pleased to invite you to a press event dedicated to Aline Bouvy’s project La Merde, curated by Stilbé Schroeder (Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain), on Thursday, May 7 at 2pm.

Aline will present La Merde, her first film, in which she explores shame as a social construct and exposes the thresholds at which humans are categorized, tolerated, repressed, or excluded. Using the figure of an anthropomorphic turd, the film analyzes the way society produces bodies over which it demands control and restraint. When restraint gives way, not by choice but because a limit has been reached, the situation changes dramatically: that which has been contained, reveals its true nature in broad daylight.

Working with detailed formal systems, a rigorous aesthetic, and a decidedly quirky sense of humor, the artist explores how certain norms—especially those related to gender and the body, or to the understanding of cleanliness and dirtiness—establish hierarchies, induce exclusion, or create invisibility. Combining film, sculpture, and sound, La Merde offers a hybrid experience, an immersive journey that raises questions. 

To confirm your attendance at the press visit and to request interviews with the artist or curator during the Venice preview days, please register via the form so that we can schedule an on-site appointment.

Important information
Please note that accreditation for the 61st Venice Biennale is required to access the site and attend the press event at the Luxembourg Pavilion. Accreditation for the 2026 Venice Biennale can be obtained directly from the Biennale Press Office before April 24, 2026 through this link.

​Aline Bouvy: La Merde
​Commissioner appointed by the Ministry of Culture, Luxembourg: Kultur | lx − Arts Council Luxembourg 
​Curator: Stilbé Schroeder | Casino Luxembourg − Forum d’art contemporain, assisted by Thibaud Leplat
​Artist: Aline Bouvy
​Organizer: Casino Luxembourg − Forum d’art contemporain 
​Visual Identity: Olivier Vandervliet | Triangle Books

May 9–November 22, 2026
​Press preview days: May 6–8
​Press event: Thursday, May 7 at 2pm (RSVP before May 1)
​Official opening: Thursday, May 7 at 5:30pm

Luxembourg Pavilion
​Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, 1st floor
​Google Maps

Press contacts
​Club Paradis for international press: ​Micha Pycke, micha@clubparadis.be / T +32 (0)486 680 070

Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg for national press: ​Emilie Gouleme, Head of communications, emilie.gouleme@kulturlx.lu / T +352 621 680 028

Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain: ​Marion Gales, Head of communication and press, marion.gales@casino-luxembourg.lu / T +352 22 50 45 11