Spectacles of the Society
By Mari Matsutoya

Standing somewhere in between the grand and hopeful national pride of the Olympics and the surreal theme-park feel of Disneyland, the ultimate spectacle of the 54th Venice Biennale finally draws to a close.

Curated by Bice Curinger, the theme this time was IllumiNATIONS and with the number of participating countries hitting a record high of 88, there were certainly a lot of nations to illuminate - the task of getting around the exhibition in the time space of 3 days was an Olympic sport in itself.

The Golden Lion went to the German Pavilion, an installation on the late Christoph Schlingensief who passed away during preparations for the Biennale. Set out like a triptych, the main area showed 'Church of Fear vs. the Alien Within', transforming the main space into an eerily exaggerated church. At the altar amongst many other objects are some X-rays of his own body as it surrendered to cancer, and video works scattered in various locations. The side wings showed his 80's splatter inspired films, and project documentations from Africa. It was an introduction into the world of a man who was constantly trying to tear down his country’s perception of history and confronting death. The letters on the entrance to the pavilion was changed from 'GERMANIA' to 'EGOMANIA'.

Next, the Silver Lion went to the British Pavilion with Mike Nelson's 'I, Imposter', a labyrinthine installation leading you through dusty and dingy rooms with no windows, just neon lights. A darkroom, a Turkish toilet, scenes one would rarely encounter in reality.

My personal objective for this biennale was to see Christian Marclay's 'The Clock', a 24hour-long film made up of many different film clips, which all refer to the time. The time shown in the film corresponds to the real-time. However, I thought it a shame that the film was shown in the Arsenale complex, meaning that you couldn't access it after 6pm until 10am. Despite this, 'The Clock' won the Golden Lion.

Haroon Mirza, London based artist, also won an award for his installation featuring a darkened room with a ring of lights on the ceiling which get brighter until it short-circuits, in a perpetual cycle and producing electrifying sounds.

Another favorite of mine was the British artist Nathaniel Mellors for his surreal, soap opera-like films. Also on show was a moving, talking animatronics sculpture of two heads, a character from the film, seemingly disagreeing with each other constantly.   

Yes, the spectacle is entertaining, and it definitely draws a crowd. Add to that, the strong human need to want to place things in order. But the notion of the curator as 'taste-maker' remains a bit of a snag. In the wake of the Arab uprising, the individual taking videos with mobile phones became the focus of attention and finally had their voices heard - the Egyptian pavilion showed video works from a young artist/activist Ahmed Basiony who lost his life in the riots, a very poignant entry. The power shift from institution to individual is felt throughout the media. Curating has also changed in this sense and these days much of the time the artist is also the curator. But the format and sheer scale of an event such as the biennale needs a visionary organizer, and whether this year's has made the mark, is open to debate.  

Taken from SLIM Mag December Issue