Artists

Jakub Jansa, Selmeci Kocka Jusko

Press release

At the center of The Silence of the Mole is Mr. M., an exhausted actor who has played the character of the mole for decades. Once an embodiment of childhood innocence and poetic silence, the Mole has turned into a mascot of cultural diplomacy, a licensed commodity, and a nostalgic myth, a symbol of stolen fantasy. Sent to represent the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic as a diplomatically acceptable, politically neutral figure, the mole also embodies reproach, silence, and a confused identity. Within the pavilion's burrow, the faint, unlocatable noise that destabilizes its refuge mirrors how our silenced instruments, once meant to resonate, become sites of anxiety. The project addresses Czech-Slovak coexistence, collective memory, and ecological fatigue, examining what transpires when imagination becomes a public mask. Its interdisciplinary format brings together film, objects and architecture as a whole installation, drawing on cultural references from both countries to explore the ways in which identity of the two nations has been staged over time. Note: 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Czechoslovak Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Curator: Peter Sit. Commissioner: Michal Novotný.