Make A Pit Stop At Venice Biennale 2019 art has always been a deeply engraved tradition of Italy, enhancing its historically significant charms. The 58th edition of Biennale officially opened in May of 2019, featuring 72 different artists in “May You Live In Interesting Times” expressing their stories in majestically alluring ways. This main exhibition has immense importance in art history as for the first time women dominate half of the artwork submissions to Corderie dell’Arsenale and the Central Pavilion as well.
Instead of following a similar theme, the artists have individually expressed their viewpoints reflecting our slowly decaying existence. Though the themes have gradually come into view, most of them lay in the domain of global disasters such as migration crisis and of course the one severely affecting Venice itself: global warming. Though the tide has just started to rise for Biennale in Venice. Having said that, 90 states have arranged separate pavilions displaying their selected exhibitions involving countries like Pakistan, Ghana, Malaysia, and Madagascar – for the first time ever.
Despite the political disorder in Italy, this art festival has caused people to set aside their differences not just in the country but also in the entire world. This edition of Biennale inspired people to communicate globally through artistic representations and shed light on the significance behind the creations for the sake of art and humanity. In this age of social media, it has become a lot easier to spread your beliefs amongst the world and with different artists having their work showcased on Instagram, this Biennale has taken aspiring artists from around the globe through a magical journey collectively. Regardless of being physically present in Venice or not, the experience is being shared worldwide.
One that blew Biennale away was the creation of Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, also known as Shoplifter for Iceland. Labeled “Chromo Sapiens”, her interpretation of fusing bundles of synthetic vibrantly colored hair created the ultimate selfie-spot of Biennale.
Yet another piece of artwork sparked some conversation amongst people around the world, this time in the form of a huge vessel. Christoph Büchel, the artist from Switzerland demonstrated a visual representation of all the lives that were lost in the 2015 Mediterranean shipwreck disaster. Büchel brought the remainder to Biennale and displayed a metaphorical grave to pay respect to the migrants who lost their lives, which are reportedly more than 800. Though its reoccurrence caused some controversies, it is still considered as one of the most prestigious artworks at Biennale.
The Golden Lion for Best International Participation this year was awarded to the three artists of Lithuania; ugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Lina Lapelytė for their creation of Sun & Sea (Marina). With the use of 35 tons of Lithuanian sand, they altered the site in a successful attempt to create a fake beach.
No Comments