Mouthfool
On view from 19 November 2026
Language knows no borders. It travels with people, changes along the way and leaves traces wherever it goes. In Mouthfool, the artist collective Slavs and Tatars explores how language migrates: from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation.
Almost nothing is what it seems
In Mouthfool, language becomes tangible. An alphabet becomes a sculpture, a mouth becomes a tapestry, and a tongue takes centre stage. A prayer becomes a work of art, and a myth grows wheels. With Slavs and Tatars, almost nothing is what it first appears to be.
Through humour, wordplay and absurd imagery, the collective shows that language is far more than a means of communication. It shapes who we are and how we understand the world. It travels with us: in our minds, on our tongues, and in the stories, rituals, recipes and myths we carry with us.
Szpagat, 2017
About Slavs and Tatars
Slavs and Tatars is an internationally renowned artist collective that has spent the past twenty years exploring the vast region stretching between the former Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China. It is a place where people, languages and religions have met for centuries. While the region is often viewed through the lens of war and conflict, Slavs and Tatars takes a different point of departure: not the political border, but language.
Following presentations at institutions including MoMA, Tate Modern and La Biennale di Venezia, Mouthfool is the first major solo exhibition by Slavs and Tatars in the Netherlands.
Mother Tongues and Father Throats, 2012. Pejman Foundation, Tehran, 2017. Photo: Hamid Eskandari
A new exhibition space
With Mouthfool, Fenix opens a new space for temporary exhibitions this autumn. Here, international artists will explore migration from new perspectives. Slavs and Tatars is the first to take over the space.
