We Thought Were Alone

We Thought We Were Alone by Koen Vanmechelen takes visitors on a journey through key themes in the artist's oeuvre: hybridity, identity and survival, through the connection between all forms of life. Accompanies the exhibition of the same title at Venice Biennale from 9 May until 22 November 2026. During the Venice Biennale, Belgian artist and thinker Koen Vanmechelen is presenting a solo exhibition in the historic Palazzo Rota Ivancich. The exhibition, entitled We Thought We Were Alone, spans three floors and takes visitors on a journey through key themes in the artist's oeuvre: hybridity, identity and survival, through the connection between all forms of life. The title, We Thought We Were Alone, refers to the premise that humans are not central to the functioning of the earth, but that every organism has a role to play in a complex system that is actually self-regulating. In addition to the artworks, the book also explores Vanmechelen's long history with the Italian city and the communities that invariably form around his art. It includes a chapter on Wild Gene Festival – the collaboration between the artist and singer Youssou N'Dour – and essays by voices such as human rights expert Manfred Nowak and physicist Thomas Hertog.

During the 2026 Venice Biennale, Belgian artist and thinker Koen Vanmechelen returned to the city with We Thought We Were Alone, a solo exhibition in the historic Palazzo Rota Ivancich. His work moves through the questions that have driven his practice for decades: what it means to be human in a world shared with other species, what diversity costs when it disappears, and what remains when the cages we build - for animals, for nature, for each other - are finally opened. This book documents the exhibition and the thinking behind it, and includes essays by prominent voices such as cosmologist Thomas Hertog, human rights expert Manfred Nowak and evolutionary biologist Menno Schilthuizen.   'Decades ago Venice shaped me as an artist. I felt the paradox of an island that looks like paradise but behaves like a laboratory. You can stay and be seduced by the surface, or you can break through it and discover what Venice is really made of: exchange, crossings, contamination.' - Koen Vanmechelen