Under Review is a time-based, site-specific performance protest that functions as an artistic intervention against the increasingly severe immigration regulations imposed on non-European Union (EU) citizens in Norway and across Europe.
The performance, held in September 2025 at the Bergen Pavilion, was staged as a symbolic mass wedding between EU and non-EU citizens. Each couple stood before a machine that processed and reviewed their marriage application, assessing whether they met all the criteria for a legal union through a series of interrogating questions, financial trials, and an indefinite waiting time.
The performance—and the machine at its center—mirrored and mimicked the conditions a non-EU individual must navigate if they choose to marry an EU citizen, simulating the invasive inquiries conducted by Norway’s immigration authorities (UDI). On top of the existing rules, participants were also subject to financial criteria, a regulation that has recently been enacted, making it increasingly difficult for non-EU citizens to obtain or retain residency documentation. New regulations require Norwegian citizens marrying non-EU individuals to earn a minimum of NOK 416512 per year for their marriage to be legally recognized and accepted by the state.
The project was created in collaboration with Bergen Kommune, the City Council and stands at the intersection of activism, demonstration, and performance art, aiming to draw attention to the ambiguity, prejudice, and absurdity inherent in the immigration policies crafted by governmental bodies in relation to real and human bodies navigating them. At the end of their interaction with the machine, performers are handed a receipt stating their case and the expected review time. The project invites the public to participate and engage in dialogue on the subject.
For a limited time, the Bergen Pavilion, a touristic and cultural monument of the city, was occupied by a group of immigrant and local artists to make their voices heard. The Pavilion turned into a space of dialogue and reflection, where sharing a piece of wedding cake became a gesture of solidarity, a way for participants to exchange experiences and question the opaque structures of migration policy.
Under Review took place on September 26 and was created by Pouria Kazemi and Mila Elisabeth Lavroll.
Photography by Filip Glezgo.
All tech by Rui Liu.
Photography by Filip Glezgo.
All tech by Rui Liu.
