Collateral, Venice
Group Exhibition
Antarctic Pavilion
Antarctic PavilionIn March 2017 an international group of artists, scientists, architects and philosophers left the port of Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) bound for the Antarctic Circle – onboard the scientific research vessel Akademik Sergei Vavilov. They would make landfall at numerous sites on the world’s southernmost continent throughout the next two weeks. At each location, artworks, exhibitions and performances were realized. Mobility, site-specificity and ecological compatibility were key touchstones. Nothing was left behind and no audience was present, except the participants themselves and – of course – Antarctica’s native species. Actions included a landscape photography exhibition for penguins (they didn’t seem to get much out of it) and an underwater installation for whales. In addition to onshore interventions, throughout the expedition, the vessel itself served as a floating studio, exhibition, installation and performance space; a photo lab, and conference facility. Onboard activities included symposia, debates, and a daily screening program featuring commissioned videos by international artists. Throughout, the focus was on the question ‘What potential does the Antarctic Imaginary hold?’– for exiting polarized identity politics, and ecological insensitivity in public culture. Also, on dialogues leading to future cross-disciplinary collaborations. For the project’s Commissioner, Alexander Ponomarev and the Organizing Committee, the enterprise was ventured in the belief that this remote region must be made more proximate; that the last continent is a fertile site for new beginnings. This year, The Antarctic Pavilion presents documentation of this 1st Antarctic Biennale – a paradigm-shifting phenomenon in biennale culture: A hot-house in a frozen realm, without mobile phones, internet, ready audience, or escape to another cocktail party, throughout this biennale everyone was in the same boat. While its expedition is complete, its collaborative outcomes are just beginning. In addition to documentation of the 1st Antarctic Biennale, this year’s Antarctic Pavilion debuts a series of newly commissioned works exploring the aesthetic, conceptual and mythic paramaters of the Antarctic Imaginary. ANTARCTIC BIENNALE OPEN CALL ARTISTS-FINALISTS: Andreas Lutz (Germany), ‘Hgdnt’, kinetic audio-visual installation Ariel Spadari (Brazil) ‘We met in ANTARTIC’, sculpture and drawings Banrei (USA), ‘Massa notification 2017’, multi-channel audio file, speakers Bridget Steed (UK), ‘Sur’, rendered 3D reconstruction of iceberg Jasmin Blasco (France), ‘In From the Cold’, antennae, FM transmitter and receiver Louise Oates (UK), ‘via self-assembly’, installation Matilde Solbiati (Italy), ‘The indigenous population of Antarctica’, mixed media Meadhbh O'Connor (Ireland), ‘Climate Simulator’, single-channel video Stefan Laxness (Iceland), ‘S4.E3_Prospects_of_Love’, film/animation/TV Stephanie Roland (Belgium) ‘Deception Island’, video Sybren Renema (Netherlands), ‘Great God! This is an awful place’, neon Tomjo Blake (Australia), ‘One Hundred Words for an Empty Vessel’, participatory project Valentine Siboni (France), ‘Ballad Antarctica: few ways to get there.’, video installation Winston Chmielinski (USA), ‘Melting As a Model, That’s All’, flags, thread ARTISTS-PARTICIPANTS (1ST ANTARCTIC BIENNALE): Abdullah Al Saadi (UAE). ‘Antarctic Alphabets’, Expedition Diaries Alexander Ponomarev (Russia). 'Alchemy of Antarctic Albedo (Or Washing Pale Moons)'. Underwater installations Alexis Anastasiou (Brazil). ‘It ́s Cold out There’. Large scale projection Andrey Kuzkin (Russia). 'The Phenomenon of Nature or 99 Landscapes with a Tree'. Series of performances Eulalia Valldosera (Spain). ‘Penelope’s voice: communicating with animals’. Audio intervention on the ship that travels to Antarctica Gustav Dusing (Germany). ‘The solid state of matter’. Tent made of frozen cotton Joaquin Fargas (Argentina). ‘Glaciator’. Robotic & Solar, mixed techniques Julian Charriere (France/Switzerland). ‘Silence’, Performance Juliana Cerqueira Leite (Brazil). ‘Vestibule’. Video Installation Julius von Bismarck (Germany). 'Space Fish (Raumfisch)'. Performance Lou Sheppard (Canada). 'Requiem for the Antarctic Coast', Sound installation Paul Rosero Contreras (Ecuador). 'Arriba!' site-specific intervention, film, photographs Shama Rahman (Bangladesh/UK). 'Truth be told', Performance with sitar on ice Sho Hasegawa (Japan). 'Winter Landscape (Antarctica Version)' Tomas Saraceno (Argentina/Germany). ‘Aerocene’ Performance Yasuaki Igarashi (Japan). 'Bundling Time', Performance Yto Barrada (Morocco). ‘Abstract Geology’ Zhang Enli (China). 'Egg’ CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Adrian Balseca (Ecuador), Cinemateque de Tangiers (Morocco), Constant Dullaart (Netherlands), Eli Maria Lundgaard (Norway), Emile Brout and Maxine Marion (France), Emmy Skensved and Gregoire Blunt (Canada), Etienne de France (France), Eva and Franco Mattes (Italy), Hans Op de Beeck (Belgium), Jessica Sarah Rinland (UK), Julian Charriere (France / Switzerland), Karin Ferrari (Austria), Katya Kovaleva (Russia), Marcel Dinahet (France), Paul Rosero Contreras (Ecuador), Swetlana Heger (Sweden), Young Hae-Chang Heavy Industries (Korea), Yto Barrada (Morocco). INTERDISCIPLINARY PARTICIPANTS: Adrian Dannatt (UK), Alexander Sekatskii (Russia), Barbara Imhof (Austria), Carlo Rizzo (Italy/UK), Elizabeth Barry (USA), Jean de Pomereu (France), Hector Monsalve (Argentina), Lisen Schultz (Sweden), Miguel Petchkovsky (Angola/Portugal), Nicholas Shapiro (USA), Sergey Pisarev (Russia), Susmita Mohanty (India), Wakana Kono (Japan).