Anticipated Exhibits at Venice Biennale 2024: Notable Country Pavilions
At the 60th Venice Biennale, titled "Foreigners Everywhere," various national pavilions showcased compelling works that explore the themes of foreignness, migration, and identity. Local curator Daria Kravchuk highlights five standout pavilions, each presenting unique perspectives on these global issues.
Austrian Pavilion
Anna Jermolaewa, a conceptual artist based in Vienna, expressed her multidisciplinary practice at the Austrian Pavilion. Her wide-ranging portfolio encompasses video, installation, painting, performance, photography, and sculpture. The artist's work seamlessly adheres to the Biennale's overarching theme, shedding light on the complexities of foreignness, migration, and national identity.
Notably, Jermolaewa's contribution included the installation "The Penultimate" (2017), featuring symbolic plants symbolising various "colour revolutions" – popular uprisings identified by colours or floral terms. Emblematic plants such as red carnations, roses, tulips, cornflowers, lotuses, saffron crocuses, jasmine, a cedar, and an orange tree were presented as a still life. Each plant represented a specific revolution, including Portugal's 1974 military coup, Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution, Egypt's Lotus Revolution (2011), and Ukraine's Orange Revolution (2004). These plants served as poignant reminders of the power of popular uprisings and the fears they instil in undemocratic regimes.
Egyptian Pavilion
Wael Shawky, representing Egypt at the Biennale, presented deeply researched and traveled works that combined drawing, sculpture, film, performance, and storytelling. In his poetic vision, these techniques coalesced to create a fantastical universe where traditional Arabic culture and contemporary elements coexisted. Shawky's work reframed contemporary culture through the lens of historical events and traditions.
At the Egyptian Pavilion, Shawky presented "Drama 1882," a filmed rendition of an original musical play he directed, choreographed, and composed. This evocative piece delved into Egypt's Urabi Revolution against imperial influence (1879-82), a revolt crushed by the British in 1882, leading to their occupation of Egypt until 1956. Accompanying the film were vitrines, sculptures, paintings, drawings, and a mirror relief crafted in Murano, offering a comprehensive view of Shawky's artistic vision.
Japanese Pavilion
Yuko Mohri, known for her installation and sculpture work, emphasised dynamic occurrences influenced by environmental conditions in her artwork. Recently, she expanded her exploration of this concept through video and photography. Her site-specific installations at the Japanese Pavilion were created using materials sourced from local Venetian shops. During her extended residency, Mohri formed connections with local residents and shop owners, integrating the materials they provided into her work.
Among her standout pieces was the large-scale kinetic sculpture "Moré Moré (Leaky)," composed of everyday objects such as plastic buckets, translucent hoses, and small pumps that moved water from one location to another. These items were collected from local hardware shops, minimising the need for long-distance transportation. Additionally, Mohri employed a decaying process for her installation "Decomposition," sourcing overripe fruits from a local fruit grocer and furniture from local antique markets.
Uzbekistan Pavilion
The Uzbekistan pavilion, titled "Don't Miss the Cue," explored issues of belonging and identity through the experiences of Central Asian women. Curator Aziza Kadyri led the project in collaboration with the Qizlar collective, a Tashkent-based group of female artists. Upon entering the Pavilion in the Arsenale, visitors embarked on a metaphorical journey involving participatory and interactive installations.
The project welcomed visitors into a deconstructed theatre backstage, evoking memories of the Houses of Culture that dotted Eurasia in the early 20th century. Animated by sculptures inspired by traditional costumes and textiles, this theatrical setting was embedded with audiovisual materials by the Qizlar Collective. Central to the exhibition were women's stories, collective practices, and the intricate relationships between the physical body and the surrounding world. This vibrant display reinterpreted the characteristic Uzbek hand embroidery "suzani" through technological means, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern innovation.
British Pavilion
John Akomfrah, recently knighted, presented his British Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Biennale, focusing on pressing contemporary issues worldwide through the central theme of listening. Titled "Listening All Night to the Rain," the exhibition invited visitors to reimagine the British Pavilion's 19th-century neoclassical building as a space for reflection.
Akomfrah constructed a multi-layered installation that combined newly filmed material with found images, videos, audio clips, and texts sourced from hundreds of international archives and libraries. The commission featured eight multimedia and sound installations, each gallery space imbued with a specific colour field inspired by American artist Mark Rothko. The exhibition approached abstraction as a means to convey the essence of human drama, offering a nuanced exploration of memory, migration, racial injustice, and climate change.
- The artwork at the Austrian Pavilion, by Anna Jermolaewa, delves into the complexities of foreignness and migration, particularly through her installation "The Penultimate" (2017), which symbolizes various color revolutions, representing popular uprisings that have occurred worldwide.
- Wael Shawky's presentation at the Egyptian Pavilion combines different artistic techniques to create a fantastical universe that coexists with traditional Arabic culture, while also reframing contemporary culture through the lens of historical events, as seen in his filmed rendition "Drama 1882," about Egypt's Urabi Revolution against imperial influence.
- At the Japanese Pavilion, Yuko Mohri's site-specific installations reflect dynamic occurrences influenced by environmental conditions, employing materials sourced from local Venetian shops, such as the large-scale kinetic sculpture "Moré Moré (Leaky)," made from everyday objects and minimizing long-distance transportation needs.
