Just outside the entrance to the South African pavilion, Mohau is greeted by visitors and picture snapping. Here he’s seen with Lady Davies of the KT Wong Foundation.
Basetsana Kumalo speaking at the opening of the South African pavilion, with the Consul General, Lucy MacGarry, Candice Breitz, Mohau Modisakeng and Musha Neluheni.
Lucy MacGarry saying some words at the opening event. Lucy and Musha Neluheni were the curators of this year’s pavilion. Between 10and5 were also in Venice for the opening, check out their images here.
Visitors watching Mohau’s work ‘Passage’ at the South African pavilion.
Some images from the second room of Candice’s installation ‘Love Story’. Here the people whose stories Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin are retelling give us their full story. Read The Guardian’s take on this work here.
Arranged in a semi-circle, visitors moved from one screen to the next, waiting in turn for a set of headphones, to listen to each individuals story again. This time though, they can hear and see the faces, accents, and characters of those who Alec and Julianne can only endeavour to convey.
Another view of the second room. From Candice’s website “The work is based on the personal narratives of six individuals who have fled their countries in response to a range of oppressive conditions: Sarah Ezzat Mardini, who escaped war-torn Syria; José Maria João, a former child soldier from Angola; Mamy Maloba Langa, a survivor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Shabeena Francis Saveri, a transgender activist from India; Luis Ernesto Nava Molero, a political dissident from Venezuela; and Farah Abdi Mohamed, an idealistic young atheist from Somalia.”
A relief from yet more drywall, the windows in this room were left exposed, and tinted, which really helped the visitor relocate themselves and the stories they were hearing into the context of Venice, Europe, trade, and migration without breaking the spell.
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