Written By Water, Luxembourg Pavilion, 58th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia
58th International Art Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
Luxembourg Pavilion
New venue → Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, 1st floor
11.05 - 24.11.2019
Marco Godinho was selected to represent Luxembourg at the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with his project Written by Water.
The Portuguese-born artist Marco Godinho is a nomadic explorer of the geographical, political and philosophical margins and boundaries of the world in which he lives. In line with the main themes that guide his artistic approach, Godinho’s work for the Venice Biennale deals with the relationships that mankind entertains with the sea.
Throughout the centuries, the sea has fascinated humans and given birth to countless legends and projections, prompting men and women to embark on daring exploratory journeys that have durably changed and defined our perception of the world. Yet beneath the romantic veneer of an epic space that kindles the imagination lurks a more complex geopolitical dimension.
The beginning of the twenty-first century will for ever be marked by the waves of migration from South to North in the Mediterranean. Written by Water is an odyssey that takes the reverse path of today’s migra tory routes across the Mediterranean, the cradle of modern society and birthplace of founding narratives that underpin our common heritage.
In his installation for the Luxembourg Pavilion, Marco Godinho creates an organic landscape imbued with its own temporality. Here, the sea appears as a world in perpetual motion in which the thoughts and memories associated with it become unspecified nomadic variables onto which viewers can project their own stories cued by the elements put into rela tion with each other by the artist.
Written by Water invites viewers into a kind of analogue deep-learning experience. It is through their introspection and immersion in these volatile “living memories” assembled by the artist himself that these seemingly lost stories will be perpetually rewritten.
Kevin Muhlen
Director of Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG'S PRESENCE AT THE ARSENALE
For the Biennale Arte 2019, the Luxembourg Pavilion joins the Arsenale. Leaving the Ca’ del Duca, the private home that had been hosting its exhibitions since 1999, it has moved to the first floor of the Sale d’Armi. Thanks to this new location, the Luxembourg Pavilion sits right in the throbbing heart of the Biennale.
JURY
In the spring of 2018, a jury composed of Emma Lavigne (Director, Centre Pompidou-Metz), Danielle Igniti (Director, CCR opderschmelz, art galleries of the City of Dudelange), Suzanne Cotter (Director, Mudam Luxembourg), Frank-Thorsten Moll (Director, IKOB Eupen) and Kevin Muhlen (Director, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain) unanimously selected Marco Godinho to represent Luxembourg at the Biennale Arte 2019.
With their choice, the jury wished to “honour the prolific work of Marco Godinho and his remarkable presence on the national and international artistic stage for the last decade. The invitation to conceive the Luxembourg Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2019 will allow him to realise a new and ambitious artistic project and expand his field of action in the years to come. His participation in this internationally recognised event – as well as the increased visibility of the Luxembourg Pavilion in the Arsenale – will give him an opportunity to further expand his professional network”.
More infos:
luxembourgpavilion.lu
Trailer (w. English subtitles)
Facebook
Instagram
Instagram (Written by Water)
Luxembourg Pavilion
Exhibition
11.05 - 24.11.2019
Arsenale / Sale d'Armi
Campo de la Tana, 2169/F
Sestier Castello
30122 Venise, Italy
Commissioner
Ministry of Culture, Luxembourg
Organiser
Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain
Curator
Kevin Muhlen
Assistant Curator
Stilbé Schroeder
Visual Identity and Design
Multiplo
Partner
Luxembourg – Let's Make It Happen
With the support of
SJL Jimenez Lunz
Law Firm Luxembourg
—
Press Contact
Nadine Clemens
Press Agency
Fouchard Filippi Communications
Philippe Fouchard Filippi (Coordination)
Valentina Santamaria (Italy)
Claudia Dance Wells (International)