THE 59TH VENICE ART BIENNALE | THE MILK OF DREAMS

Although I loved this Biennale concept which centred around female artists and female themes such as maternity, as well as our relationship with mother nature; I was very surprised. I was surprised that the pandemic was completely ignored by curator Cecilia Alemani. It felt as though the curator had a fixed concept and never adjusted it to the most topical global theme that one would think would have dominated the Biennale. So, in this respect I felt it was a Biennale built in a bit of a vacuum.

I have been curious to see artists’ response to the pandemic and I saw this Biennale as a prime opportunity to show the world exactly that. Instead, this Biennale continued to show an emphatic response to the climate crisis – which made it a continuation to the Biennale of 2019, which although is the most critical topic one should be engaging in and entirely connected to the pandemic; it really wasn’t evident that we have lived though a pandemic from visiting the Biennale.

Rosana Paulino, from Senhora das plantas series, 2022

Portia Zvavahera, Fallen People, 2022

Captured Owls, 2022

One of the reasons why it felt there was no response to the pandemic was because there was an inclusion of a lot of historic art by female artists. Although this art is incredibly important and needed to be exhibited at some stage, again I felt this wasn’t the right time. I would have rather seen current art, post-pandemic and see more historic work another time – unless the historic work was also created at a time of a global pandemic and was therefore relevant.

Simone Leight, Satellite, 2022

Last Garment, 2022

However, as I said I loved the Biennale theme. It was very empowering and sadly novel, to be immersed in the creative voices of so many women in a condensed context, and as the dominant creative gender on such a prominent global platform. One experienced many commonalities in the artists’ messaging and in what drives their art. There were certainly sensibilities around the topics of nature, particularly in connection to maternity, maternity itself, and in the story of women - not as a story of victimhood but of survival, simultaneously fully acknowledging the varying levels of persecution endured historically by women, particularly with regards to race.