Entertainment News2 min(s) read
Published 14:57 07 May 2026 GMT
An Austrian artist has shocked thousands after a video of her performance at the Venice Biennale 2026 went viral.
Performance artist Florentina Holzinger’s immersive installation, Seaworld Venice, at the world’s biggest art exhibition, begins with a nude female performer hanging upside down inside a huge bronze bell.
Her body swings side to side imitating the motion of a bell, symbolising ringing a climate alarm.
There is a sound coming from the bell suspended above the pavilion entrance, made by the performer's body that echoes across the exhibition grounds.
The act, intended to represent an urgent warning about accelerating sea-level rise and the climate crisis, has shocked people online who perhaps just saw it as a topless lady swinging from a bell.
The performance has received serious backlash online from misogynists. One X user said, “This has nothing to do with the ‘climate apocalypse’, whatever the hell that even means. It's just another talentless female using her female abilities to sexualise herself to get attention”.
Others appreciated the art, but likely not for what it represents. Another X user commented, “The Left: It's about climate change!!! Me: Nice tits.”
Another commenter added: “It is a bunch of attention whores and it has nothing to do with the climate.”
One person made a statement that, sadly, was probably true: “I can assure you that 98% are here for the tits and nothing to do with art or the artist”.
However, some people were in support of the controversial performance art piece and activist artist Holzinger.
In contrast to the critics, one social media user said, “This performance is wild—turning a massive bell into a climate alarm with raw physicality. Powerful statement!”
Often described as the Olympics of the art world, the Venice Biennale is the world’s oldest and most prestigious international contemporary art exhibition, held every two years in Venice, Italy.
It serves as a global stage where countries showcase their most significant artists, and curators set the tone for the future of the art market and academic discourse.
