Brilant Milazimi will represent the Republic of Kosovo at the 61st International Venice Biennale. In Venice, he will present 'Hard Teeth (Dhëmbë të Fortë)', an immersive painting installation at the newly reopened Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pianto, curated by José Esparza Chong Cuy.
Featuring a 17-meter-wide landscape painting, Brilant Milazimi depicts a line of people standing closely across mountains reminiscent of Kosovo’s rural terrain. Echoing historical and contemporary scenes of displacement, the panoramic composition features frail bodies lingering in the landscape. Presented along a self-standing structure designed by LANZA Atelier, the figures stretch across its full length and do not advance, but persevere—with their teeth tightly clenched.
Waiting is not abstract in Kosovo. For decades, mobility has been shaped by borders, documents, and the uncertain pace of recognition. The political has often been experienced administratively: through stamps, delays, and provisional acknowledgments. The image of the line has returned globally. People fleeing war. Standing at checkpoints. Waiting for asylum. Waiting to learn whether they will be allowed to stay, whether they will be sent back, whether return is possible. Waiting in spite of the likelihood of harsher conditions ahead.
