Compiled | Talha Ahmed Kehar
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Photography | As mentioned
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Issue 47
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Venice Biennale opened to the public on May 11th 2019, the title for this iteration being “May You Live in Interesting Times”. The usage of “interesting times” immediately evokes a sense of hopefulness and dread, this sentiment was mirrored by the Biennale President Paolo Baratta.
“Where the expression ‘interesting times’ evokes the idea of challenging or even ‘menacing’ times, but it could also simply be an invitation to always see and consider the course of human events in their complexity, an invitation, thus, that appears to be particularly important in times when, too often, oversimplification seems to prevail, generated by conformism or fear”
In truth we do live in interesting times, so interesting that perhaps one may not know where and when to focus their attention. The exhibition facilitates conversation and discourse around diverse subject matter such as; climate change, the rise of jingoism, inequity in wealth, the pervasive power of social media, and other topics which for many are either off limits or alien.
According to curator Ralph Rugoff the exhibition “highlights artworks whose forms function in part to call attention to what forms conceal and the multifarious purposes that they fulfil.” Rugoff views the artworks as suggestions for how to live in and think in ‘interesting times’. With this in mind each exhibit may be seen as short manifesto or guide on what it means to exist in the present day.
This year the Exhibitions include 90 National Participations in the historic Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale and in the city centre of Venice. Four countries will be participating for the first time, including Pakistan.
The UAE’s national pavilion explores notions of progress and heritage in its documentation of architectural and urban development in the country over the last century. The exhibit titled “Lest We Forget: Structures of Memory in the UAE” chronologically explores the transmission of architectural traditions from 1914-2014, focusing primarily on modern architecture and the struggle of architects working in the UAE to maintain a meaningful connection to the past. The exhibit explores the architecture and urban planning of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, significant centres for the UAE politically, financially, and culturally.
The installation is itself and archive that invites the viewer to discover the history of this region. Boundaries and hanging screen allow the viewer privacy as they walk through the space. Images are concealed within literal drawers of history, a curatorial decision that echoes the nature of these photographs that are often tucked away and undisclosed to the public. The images are taken from diverse sources including; the federal and municipal archives, Emirati photo albums, and postcards. In addition to the photos there are plans, taken from architectural and engineering firms, showcasing commercial buildings and structures such as the Dubai world trade centre, the Blue Souk and others.
Video and sound installations are also featured where one may listen to conversations about the subject of UAE’s architectural planning, filmed specifically for the exhibition. Notable participants in these conversations include engineer Rashad Bukhash, Director of Architectural Heritage Dubai Municipality & Chairman of Architectural Heritage Society; Dr. Yasser Elsheshtawy, Associate Professor of Architecture, United Arab Emirates University Al Ain; Mel Stewart, Civil Engineer & Special Advisor at Halcrow; Dr. Frauke Heard-Bey, David Heard, and Peter Jackson, RIBA, Architectural Advisor, HH Ruler’s Office, Sharjah
Along with the drawer’s one can view a chronological timeline info-graphic that features significant buildings in the UAE, along with the architectural, economic, and political developments that occurred synchronously.
The Italian Pavilion focuses on the research of three artists Enrico David, Chiara Fumai, and Liliana Moro. Titled “Neither Nor” the exhibit draws inspiration from Italo Calvino’s essay The challenge to the Labyrinth. Using the metaphor of the Minotaur’s labyrinth and the Ariadne’s thread, Calvino attempts to guide his reader through the maze of the contemporary world. Similarly the artist in the exhibit approach their works as a guide for humanity in these times, the viewer is presented with three approaches, each distinct but also in a dialectic relationship with the other.
The installation of these works took the shape of labyrinth creating an exhibition route that allowed for visitors to move back and forth and explore the exhibition and its work. On the structure of labyrinth curator Milovan Farronato states “The labyrinth does not escape spatial teleology” put simply it is premeditated and consciously designed with a singular purpose; once in you are looking for a way out. Farronato encourages the viewer to wander the spacious labyrinth and enjoy the experience “Every road joins up with another, every choice is a right, there are no wrong ones”. Thus every approach or rather every route we choose to navigate is equally valid and correct.
Liliana Moro’s body of work consists of 3D Installations. An interesting proposition is put forward by Liliana Moro’s piece “Upside-down” consists of street lamp hung upside down merely inches from the ground. Moro’s light fixture serves no functional purpose in lighting the space; the intent is to shift the horizon within the labyrinth to make the viewer change their perspective. Moro proposes a bold approach in our current socio-political climate, where many fear seeing things differently and the horizon is fixed, however in doing so we overlook the way out.
Enrico David’s piece revolves around the Hanged Man, a tarot card from the major arcana, the card in tarot readings represent surrender or letting go. David’s work focuses on the imagery of the Hanged Man by Oswald Wirth. This become David’s departure point. David’s work features a series of sculptures and paintings where the only commonality is a genderless creature whose expression is as ambivalent as it’s gender. The Sculpture “Another Sky” showcases the figure suspended upside-down with a replica of itself underneath mirroring the action. A cage surrounds the lower bodies erasing any indication of gender as they stare blankly at the viewer with serenity and ambivalence joined at their hands. Perhaps David’s pieces point towards reliance one another, to be solid a structure supporting each other in the labyrinth of life despite differences such as gender or race.
This resonates with Chiara Fumai’s mural “This last line cannot be translated” inscribed with various symbols and sigils from various magical traditions as well as one’s created by the artist. Fumai’s mural explores the marginality of the occult practices, the images represent the desire of the practitioner. Symbols drawn onto the walls to bring into effect the changes the artists wishes to see. In practices of the occult it is the expression of one’s desires with a ritual practice that brings about the change and so Fumai’s piece point towards an openness and expression of our needs within this labyrinth, perhaps all we need to get out of the labyrinth is to voice that we want to get out?
The Turkish Pavilion “We Elsewhere” is a new work by Invi Eviner. The installation consists of a mixture of visual and auditory installations, both 2D and 3D, that engage the viewer along with the presence of imaginary characters in videos that bring the user into the surreal narrative. The question posed by Eviner is of baring witness and sharing both space and experience. Eviner’s aim with the installation is to create a within the viewer a frustration of being both “I” and “We”, of being an insider in baring witness and outsider in their understanding of it. Each piece is seemingly interacting and functioning like clockwork, giving the impression of synchronicity in action.
Eviner’s installation is testament to the interesting times we live in where experience does not necessitate understanding. However what it should demand is empathy, for the conception of an “us” on global scale is hard to achieve when identity politics limits who and what you can relate to and vice versa.
Saudi Arabia’s Pavilion sparked attention. A first time entry in the Biennale Arte 2019 the exhibit is a presentation of new work by the artist Zahrah Al Ghamdi. The title of the installation “After Illusion” is taken from an ancient Arabic poem written by Zuhayr bin Abī Sūlmā which ducouments his struggle in recognising home after being away for twenty years. Al Ghamdi’s work reflect her own journey of leaving her country to pursue her masters. It is a sentiment that may of us may understand, that of something new yet somehow familiar. Al Ghamdi’s installation consists of lines of sand, dirt and inconspicuous objects from her village wrapped around and climbing an illuminated structure.
Perhaps the most collosal installation of the biennale was one by artist Lorenzo Quinn. Titled “Building Bridges” the installations is composed of six pairs of hands, 15 metres high and 20 metres wide and speaks to humanity’s commonality, with an emphasis of bridging differences in all aspects of life. Each pair of the sculpture’s hands celebrate one of six universal human values: Friendship,Wisdom, Help, Faith, Hope. and Love. A powerful message to deliver on this platform.
PAKISTAN PAVILION – 2019
Pakistan made its debut at the Biennale Arte 2019 with “Manora Field Notes”, an exhibition of new work by the artist Naiza Khan curated by Zahra Khan.
Naiza Khan’s practice is research intensive and focuses on public space and its historical entanglements. For the exhibit Khan draws upon her own records of the evolution of Manora Island, located off the harbour of Karachi. With a mix of images, objects and observations surrounding Manora Island the exhibit investigates how the island’s changing landscape reflects wider changes across the region, such as climate change, displacement and the surge of post-colonial thought.
On the surface the exhibit pays homage to Manora however as the artist comments it “moves through the materiality of that space, inviting questions about labour and production, optics and erasure, and frictions between old and new infrastructures.”
The exhibit features a soundscape, sculptural works and a multi-channel film installation – which expands across three spaces within the pavilion.
Works in the first gallery respond to an archival weather report from 1939 – The India Weather Review – which Khan retrieved from the dilapidated Manora Weather Observatory. The review is a factual record of the aftermath of storms across British India, with the cities listed now spread across Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Maps of selected cities are presented, laser cut into Plexiglas and hand-cast into brass, as the soundscape “Hundreds of Birds Killed” features the voice of a woman reading this report.
In the pavilion’s courtyard is the sculptural installation “The Doorbeen”, a telescope which encourages visitors to consider different points of view. Taking as its reference the telescopes set up for local tourists on Manora’s beach – the apparatus becomes a symbol of the artist as mediator, and provides a space for critical reflection.
The exhibition continues with “Sticky Rice and Other Stories”, a four-channel film installation created using footage taken by Khan on Manora Island over a decade. The film is divided into two parts; with the first following the artist as she speaks to various artisans to produce miniaturised models of historic and contemporary boats. In an inversion of the industrial scale of the Arsenale’s renowned shipping production, Khan works with artisanal communities in Karachi to produce model vessels that echo ideas of the New Silk Road and the global supply chain.
The second part of the film opens into a workshop with a telescope being cleaned and reassembled to be used by tourists on the beach. The telescope is constructed from parts smuggled across the border between Iran and Pakistan, and conversations reveal local histories and modern methods of commerce. The narrative makes clear the struggles of the labourer in the face of new technologies.
This year’s Biennale is ripe with ideas for the future and reflections on what it means to be a political, social, or biological agent in our present time. With such radical thought and activism coming through in the creative field one may wonder to what extent are such strategies feasible or applicable in practice. In short they need not be, the goal of the art presented is to hold a mirror to society, to challenge the thought that feeds practical work. Curator Ralph Rugoff asks viewers to “acknowledge at the outset that art is more than a document of its times”, it may then be said that the biennale has merely added another layer to the on-going conversation on ethical thought and practice in our current times. Those interested in engaging in this dialectic may visit the exhibition which will remain open till 24th November 2019.
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