Ye Spotted at Art Basel as Vanessa Beecroft’s Bianca Censori Film Installation Draws Attention
Art Basel’s Unlimited section offered more than the usual fair-week spectacle this year. On June 16, Ye — the rapper and fashion figure formerly known as Kanye West — was seen in Basel, Switzerland, where his wife, Bianca Censori, appears in a new film installation by Vanessa Beecroft.
The work, Untitled (Izanami), is being presented by Lia Rumma Gallery at Art Basel Unlimited, the fair’s platform for large-scale pieces and performances that would be difficult to stage in a standard booth. The 2025 installation centers on a 25-minute film set in a semi-abandoned hotel near Tokyo and, according to the gallery, reimagines the Greek myth of Persephone’s abduction by Hades.
The presentation also includes a carefully arranged all-white environment: the sculpture Lying Body, four additional sculptures representing body parts, and a hospital bed. The installation was screened on Tuesday as part of the Unlimited program.
Beecroft, whose practice is known for theatrical tableaux vivants and large ensembles of female performers, has a long history of collaboration with Ye. In 2016, she staged a performance at Madison Square Garden for the launch of Yeezy Season 3 and The Life of Pablo, and by then the two had worked together nearly a dozen times. She later photographed promotional images for Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line in 2019.
Art Basel’s VIP preview days ran June 16-17, with the fair opening to the public on Thursday. In Basel, the overlap of fashion, celebrity, and contemporary art was on full display — and Beecroft’s installation sat squarely at that intersection.
