The Cool Couple on Performance, Biopolitics, and Balkan Art Scenes

In an interview with Artribune, the artist duo The Cool Couple—Niccolò Benetton (b. 1986) and Simone Santilli (b. 1987)—discuss their performances at Fotopub in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, and their broader project Turbulent Times. Their first piece, Karma Fails – Meditation Is Visualization, is a participatory performance exploring how meditation can reframe attention as a tool of biopolitical control. The artists cite influences from neoliberalism and cognitive capitalism, not Fabio Mauri. The second work, Turborage, draws on a Gianni Rodari fable to examine how power absorbs deviance. Both works are part of Turbulent Times, analyzing the present amid global crisis. The Cool Couple also participated in Autostrada Biennale – Revolution Is Us in Prizren, Kosovo (until September 21) and the Contemporary Art Festival in Ptuj, Slovenia (July 5–12). They note a vibrant, energetic art scene in the former Yugoslavia, distinct from Western Europe, and express a desire to export its climate, spontaneity, and grit to Italy.