The rise of politicizing pavillions in the 58th Venice Biennale

58th Venice Biennale curated by Ralph Rugoff

As in #artandpolitics, the 58th Art Biennale in Venice (2019) “May you live in interesting times” emerged with politicizing pavilions, three of which have been selected today.

Christoph Büchel brought to Venice Barca Nostra, the wreck of the boat which sank in the Mediterranean sea’s international waters in 2015, leaving behind over 800 people missing. Barca Nostra is emblematic of the current migrant flow affecting Europe and its decisions.

At first initiatives came up with the idea of transforming the relic into an item of collective memory. Some wanted to bring it to Brussels, others instead wanted the wreck to travel all along the continent so to raise awareness to politicians, yet it ended up in the 58th edition of the Venice Biennale.

The title evokes the Latin saying Mare Nostrum which refers to the pride of the Mediterranean Sea, but distorts its meaning. It calls upon the EU member states to take more responsibility for human rights left out at sea. Indeed, this work disturbed politicians, in particular Salvini, representative of the Lega, which found shameful that a boat of migrants received so much attention.

Sun & Sea (Marina) is a performance opera by the Lithuanian Pavilion, which won the Venice Golden Lion price. Spectators were invited to attend the performance from above, to look down at the reconstruction of a beach crowded with people burning under the sun. The performers look like passive bodies who do not interact collectively to change the situation. The only thing that brings them together are songs about plastic, pollution, the proliferation of jellyfish and so forth, to which all the performers contribute. The tone of their melancholy voice accompanies this passivity.

The curator Lucia Pietroiusti argues that the beach is, metaphorically, a representation of climate change: everyone seems to feel the consequences in their own skin, yet no one acts concretely in a collective way. As a result, we get used to this unusual situation, and prefer not to act rather than change behavior. Watch an extract: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_GoVtNag5k

Finally, with the video-installation Swinguerra, the Brazilian pavillion offers a profound and tensious vision of contemporary Brazilian culture in a period of destabilizing political and social tensions. Sitting on the benches, we see three groups of dancers competing on two opposite screens. There is an increasing tension that rises from the battle, the sound, the video shots, as they train for an annual competition.

The films by Barbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca reflect on the powerful expressions of popular culture in contemporary Brazil and their complex relationships with international and local traditions. The title of the performance, Swinguerra, refers to Swinguiera, a subgenre of Samba, popular in nowadays’ popular culture of Brasil. Yet the three dancing groups represent those that are currently marginalized by the government, including the poors and the LGBTQ community. Can these groups represent Brazilian culture while being erased from it in present times? 

Watch an extract: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzEM1DeuO3g

Published by Luna Silvestri

She/Her. Luna is an Art History student at the University of Glasgow. She is interested in the promotion of cultural awareness through education, and wants to learn more on the legality of restitution of cultural goods.