The curator of Venice Biennale, Okwui Enwezor, summoned a large number of artists from all over the world whose works raise the current urgent issues of our planet. Many artists have put up well-researched projects based on issues of war, politics and economy echoing Marxist concerns. Among them three artists, Tiffany Chung, Naeem Mohaiemen and Mika Rottenberg, made quite a mark with their work.

Tiffany Chung’s small drawings exude beauty and delicateness and simultaneously document some of the harshest conflicts of our times. Having experienced the Vietnamese war and its consequences, her work at the Biennale concentrates on the Syrian conflict.

Chung commenced research for this project in 2011 focusing on mass immigration, displacement and casualties. She creates cartographic drawings layered with delicate painting and embroidery. The approach to the work is similar to how conflicts are visually presented in newspapers and other documents, the intensity of the disaster represented by the intensity of the colour and size of the dots. This work is also a reminder of how human catastrophes and casualties become mere statistics in conflicts driven by political and economic supremacy.

Sadia Salim reviews the work of three artists whose artworks have made waves in the Biennale

Bangladeshi artist Naeem Mohaiemen’s film, Last Man in Dhaka Central, traces Dutch academic and activist Peter Custers’ involvement in revolutionary left movement in Bangladesh. After Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, the country faced two military coups and a leftist inspired soldier’s uprising. The uprising was crushed by December 1975 instigating mass arrests. Peter who had organised a group of landless peasants was accused of anti-state conspiracy as leader of the Movement for Proletarian Unity. Eventually he was released through the efforts of the Dutch government. The film captures Peter recalling the events while a Bengali song plays in the background. At the opposite end of the room, a screen displays the text of the manifesto written by Peter and a series of framed prints. Interestingly while the West was already in the grip of capitalism, individuals like Peter were probably trying to save the Third World countries from taking the same route.

Naeem Mohaiemen, video still from installation ‘Last Man in Dhaka Central’, 2015, Giardini / Photos by the writer

Mika Rottenberg’s installation of a pearl store and a 21-minute surreal video, NoNoseKnows, brings to light the realities of production, exploitation and consumption. The video is rather absurd; a large white woman sits in a flower filled office serviced by Chinese women workers who are simultaneously busy in the production of cultured pearls. The white woman oversees the production process without ever having a direct contact with the workers. The air generated by the workers helps the woman’s nose to grow long, giving her the capability to sneeze out food platters that are untidily stacked on a trolley. The pearl store on the other hand shows the finished products without a hint of the absurdities of the production process shown in the video. This work was inspired by the artist’s visit to China.

Rirkrit Tiravanija – An ongoing performance piece featuring Chinese brick makers producing bricks

In the main Arsenale exhibition space, a large poster by the Gulf Labour Coalition questions who is building the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi. Many artists, architects, writers and curators have raised their concerns regarding lack of labour rights in the UAE resulting in inhuman treatment of immigrant workers. The group will further form a public report in a series of sessions dedicated to the study of labour conditions in the Gulf States and South Asia. The poster and discussions, which may not qualify as art, raises important questions about the role of art market in exploitation of workers.

Tiffany Chung, Detail of work

The Biennale also houses works of well-known artists such as Fabio Maurio, Christian Boltanski, Glen Ligon and Huma Bhabha to name a few. There are a number of national pavilions exhibiting works of artists primarily from their respective countries including Sarah Lucas from Britain, Chiharu Shiota from Japan and Herman de vries from Netherlands. The curator has done well to bring the known as well as marginal voices to the Biennale and juxtaposing them on this international platform.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine July 12th, 2015

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