Jan Fabre's 'Ecstasy & Oracles' Spreads Across Monreale and Agrigento

Jan Fabre's sprawling exhibition 'Ecstasy & Oracles' opened across multiple sites in Sicily, including the Duomo di Monreale and the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. Curated by Joanna De Vos and Melania Rossi, the show features over 50 works from 1982 to 2016, including drawings, sculptures, films, and mosaics made from beetle shells. The exhibition explores the 'coniunctio oppositorum' between Christianity and paganism, life and death. At Monreale, Fabre's 'L'uomo che porta la croce' (2015) sits in the Chapel of San Benedetto, while beetle mosaics from the 'Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas' series (2016) are displayed in the cloister and former dormitory. In Agrigento, works are installed at the monumental complex of Santo Spirito, the Church of Santa Maria dei Greci, the Lucchesiana Library, the Museo Archeologico 'Pietro Griffo', and among the temples. A video performance by Stella Höttler, 'Searching Oracle Stones', is shown near the Temple of Concordia. The exhibition is a collateral event of Manifesta 12 and part of Palermo Italian Capital of Culture 2018. Fabre noted his love for Sicily and the historical ties between Flemish artists and the island.