FRONT ROW with Stef Van Looveren and Michele Occelli

At a time of growing polarization, multidisciplinary artist Stef Van Looveren and performer/hypnotherapist Michele Occelli emphasize the urgency of trance and creative practice. By sustaining ambiguity and encouraging non-binary ways of thinking and relating, they suggest alternative ways of inhabiting the body and engaging the world.

The Front Row talk explores in-betweenness as a shared conceptual and embodied framework within contemporary art and hypnosis. They examine how states of suspension—between self and other, inner and outer, form and formlessness—create space for transformation. Key ideas include non-binary embodiment, interconnection, and the symbolic figure of the divine androgyne (Rebis), alongside the alchemical principle of solve et coagula.

Trance is described here as a threshold where fixed identities soften and oppositions dissolve. In this reflective state of melting and re-forming, perception becomes fluid and relational. Artistic practice and hypnosis are presented as parallel embodied methods that cultivate altered attention and somatic awareness, enabling transformation across inner experience and outward form.

Additionally, Michele Occelli will lead a performative session centered on hypnosis and trance. This unique experience takes place on Saturday, March 28th at 15:00, set directly within Stef Van Looveren’s site-specific installation.

Practical information
Front Row Talk
Thursday 26.03, 19:00 – M HKA, 6th floor
Free entrance — reserve your spot here

Cosmic Body: A Live Hypnosis Activation
Saturday 28.03, 15:00 IN SITU (ground floor) In English
Tickets: €6 — reserve your tickets here

Please note: The IN SITU space will be closed to regular visitors during the Hypnosis Activation from 15:00 – 17:00.

Thanks to Vitra Partner store for collaborating on the seating.

Stef Van Looveren is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist working across performance, video, photography, sculpture and installation. Their practice explores the politics of embodiment, sexuality and the constructed nature of identity, often employing humour and prosthetic objects to reveal how identities are formed, constrained and liberated.  Using symbolic transformation and ritualistic gestures, Van Looveren explores the continuous evolution of inner states, bodies and selves. Their installations and sculptural works often incorporate materials such as silicone, wax, metal and glass: substances that evoke the malleability of the body and states of transition. These material choices reinforce a central interest in transformation, both physical and psychological, and reflect the fluidity inherent to identity. Van Looveren’s performances and installations blur the boundaries between theatrical spectacle, ritual and bodily exploration. Drawing on influences from religious iconography, technology, popular culture and subcultures such as BDSM, their work creates an immersive and charged visual language that questions normative expectations of the body while inviting viewers into a heightened, transformative experience.

Michele Occelli has led workshops and classes combining hypnotherapy with creative disciplines—including performance, dance, fine art, and architecture—to explore the mind–body connection. Trained by pioneers of modern hypnosis such as Dr. Ernest Rossi and Dr. Stephen Gilligan, he integrates Ericksonian and clinical hypnotherapy with somatic therapy and mindfulness. With over 15 years of experience, he works with individuals and groups online and from his private practice in London. He was commissioned as performer and hypnosis consultant for Lewis Walker’s Bornsick (Serpentine Gallery Live Production, 2025), designing and delivering live hypnosis as a core conceptual and performative element, and developed hypnosis as a choreographic development process for Bullyache’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find, winner of the Venice Biennale Danza 2025.

FRONT ROW is a monthly series of artists’ talks co-organised by M HKA and NICC. The programme offers audiences insight into artistic production while foregrounding the specific conditions, contexts, and questions that shape contemporary artistic practice.
Open to a range of formats – from talks and idea presentations to lecture-performances – FRONT ROW provides space for reflection on art, culture, and society through the work of some of today’s most compelling artists.