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My last day in Venice so I had to make the most of it. Getting around in the rain and cold was not the easiest!
Back at the Arsenale I spotted Anna K.E. who was representing Georgia. The large scale architectural environment was full of familiarity, such as your everyday bathroom and running water, interplayed with a video of Anna and her body moving into some unusual positions
Entering a curved gallery plastered with earth, the new Ghana Pavilion designed by David Adjaye, brought my hay fever out but it was worth the visit. One of the oval walkways had a film installation by John Akomfrah who also showed in the last Biennale. ‘Mimesis: Seven Ambiguities of Colonial Disenchantment’
Also in the Ghana Pavilion were some amazing paintings by Michael Armitage
Then we headed to Eva Rothschild at the Irish Pavilion. We loved climbing up on her blocks of happy graffiti, for us we felt we had come home and had a great sense of joy to match the lovely rainbow colours
Then the biggest surprise for me was Enrico David at the Italian Pavilion, his work was masterful and strong. Curated by Milovan Farronato they had created a challenging labyrinth to view the works of three artists
Taiwan’s Pavilion and Shu Lea Cheang’s ‘3x3x6’ was the most edgy of all. Dealing with social and political issues the artist restaged the rooms of the Palazzo delle Prigioni, a 16 centry prison. The work is technical and complicated referencing so many issues from imprisonment to surveillance systems, not holding back in pornography and vile subject matters. She uses the individual viewer as part of her complex algorithms
We stopped off at Edmund de Waal’s two part exhibition called ‘Psalm’. Displayed in a 500 year old Jewish Ghetto the work talks about the safety of the Jews in Venice, and their subsequent deportation in 1943. In the Ateneo, a beautiful 16th century building de Waal had created a real library for everyone to interact with books. The 2000 publications, in 32 lanuages, are written by those who have been forced to leave their own country
We then had a chance to visit Kate Groobey's installation ‘Pure Pleasure’
Perhaps one of the greatest pavilions was Lithuania’s, an incredible performance. Eight hours a day of pure opera viewed from a platform above a languid beach scene. The songs were mundane laments from everyday people hanging out on the beach. It was a spectacular experience, one never to be forgotten. DAATA editions artist Lina Lapelytè led the way
On our way to the Pakistan Pavilion we bumped into Ed Fornieles and friend. We were all so happy and drunk on seeing so many wonderful things
The Pakistan Pavilion’s ‘Manora Field Notes’ curated by Zahra Khan, featuring artist Naiza Khan was joyous. My friend Asma Khan and I hung out with our lovely curator daughters
We even had time for a fashion moment with Peter Fleissig at the lunch for Jon Rafman
Peter and Poju
Rafman’s dream works are always beguiling, dark and seductive
A big congrats to Neïl Beloufa who was showing a series of video interviews conducted on Skype with young soldiers from different countries. The installation was a strangely surreal gym, the viewing structures only allowed the viewer to see their eyes. Neïl’s intention was to see the military forces as human beings. Two works, ‘Global Agreement’ and ‘We only get the love we think we deserve’
Sorry no photos, our Richard Hamilton moment with my BFAMI girls Wendy Fisher and Hazel Collins
At the glitzy Serpentine party where there was more time for posing with Antonia Gross
