The Inquisitor’s Palace Birgu
11 March - 29 May 2026

“Apathy is the faithful subjective reflex of the money economy, which has permeated everything… Becoming the common denominator of all values, it is transformed into the most terrifying leveler: it devours, without salvation, the core of things—their particularity, their specific value, and their uniqueness. And thus, everything floats with the same specific weight in the ever-flowing river of money—and the only thing that differentiates them is the size of the surface they cover.”

Georg Simmel, Metropolis and Mental Life, 1903

In these contemporary times of unchecked pluralism—where image, possession, and consumerism reign supreme and clutter, leveling everything into instant information and momentary reaction, confusion and distress become more prevalent, and society begins to display a new wave of savagery more clearly and more frequently each day.

In the context of the Malta Biennale 2026, these themes gain renewed relevance: they reveal the growing gap between proclaimed ideals and lived realities, between the language of inclusion and the machinery of exclusion.