2024-05-06 11:23:45
Thanks to the massive MOSE storm surge barrier, Venice can feel a little safer when the “acqua alta” pushes into the lagoon again. Nevertheless, if the worst comes to the worst, the flood bridges are available for locals and tourists alike.
The city is built on the water and could sink into it at some point. Climate change threatens to accelerate Venice’s sinking into the sea. So the perfect place for one – Ocean Space?
The fact that it was set up by a private foundation for contemporary art in a Venetian church is explained by its director Markus Reymann as follows: “The main interest of TBA21 has always been the causes and effects of social and ecological change and the support of artists who deal with it deal with it.”
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The foundation, which he founded with patron Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza 22 years ago, has built up an art collection comprising more than 400 works since its inception. For the tenth anniversary, the decision was made not just to promote art, but to look for something that would stand as a paradigm for global change.
This is how the ocean, whose systems are being researched with artists, scientists, environmentalists and communities living in harmony with the sea, came into their focus – and the lagoon city of Venice.
Ocean Space in the Church of San Lorenzo in Venedig
Those: ©Enrico Fiorese
In 2019, after some renovation work, the church opened in the magnificent Renaissance church of San Lorenzo Ocean Space. The TBA21 Foundation is not only trying to “raise awareness of the poor state of the world’s oceans, but also to become a real player in the city.”
Can that succeed? The number of inhabitants of Venice is constantly decreasing, only 50,000 are counted. And many of them, Reymann believes, have lost touch with the sea, even though it influences them so much with all its power.
Tongan ritual in Venice’s Ocean Space
Latai Taumoepeau could awaken the oceanic consciousness of the Venetians. The charismatic artist has choreographed a performative installation for Ocean Space: “Deep Communion Sung in Minor (This Is Not a Drill)”. She invited local children and young people, as well as soccer and basketball teams from Venice, to a performance in mid-April to take turns standing on the eight rowing machines set up in front of the church altar and, in a sense, setting off to sea.
The rowing machines will be available free of charge until autumn for all visitors who want to indulge in the meditative performance. As soon as you get into the right rhythm with the paddle stick, it sings from the connected speakers. The frequency and rhythm of the paddle strokes influence the volume and intensity of the polyphonic chorale, which is combined with recorded water noises to create a dramatic soundscape.
Latai Taumoepeau performt im Ocean Space
Those: Photo Giacoma Cosua
Taumoepeau grew up in Australia, but comes from the Polynesian archipelago of Tonga and maintains close contacts with the archipelago of her ancestors. Her performance, which she conducts with a whistle in her mouth and a wooden paddle in her hand, evokes an old choral ritual of her people, the “Me’etu’upaki,” which the artist translates as stand-up paddle dance.
The embarkation ceremony represents the obligation to keep alive the “cosmogony” of their ancestors, which is closely linked to the maritime environment of life and experience. “We are one with the ocean,” says the award-winning performer in an interview with this newspaper. Which also means that she equates protecting the sea with protecting her own body.
Against deep-sea mining in the Pacific
As a member of an “oceanic people,” she feels culturally connected to the Venetians. However, her artistic work addresses the political-economic field, or more precisely: the controversial deep-sea mining in the South Pacific. Petroleum companies and exploration companies have discovered the high seas as a non-sovereign resource.
They want to develop undersea oil fields and harvest manganese nodules from the seabed. Despite citizen protests, the financially cash-strapped Kingdom of Tonga has acted as an advocate for the dismantling and is hoping to rehabilitate its ailing state budget.
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But Taumoepeau doubts that deep-sea mining will bring prosperity to local communities, on the contrary: “The companies are very clever at trapping our governments.” She sees her work as a metaphorical resistance to influence and exploitation. “How can we use our bodies and our voices to defend our cultural and spiritual values?” she asks. Her responsibility as an artist also lies in representing the interests of her people.
“Taumoepeau lives and breathes the need to fight for the preservation of the ocean,” adds curator Taloi Havini, pointing out that visitors can also learn about the scientific background of deep-sea mining in Ocean Space. Havini, who was born on the Solomon Islands of Bougainville, is showing another installation in the exhibition “Re-Stor(y)ing Oceania” in addition to the immersive paddling performance.
Deceleration and exchange
It is called “The Body of Wainuiātea” and was designed by Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta. The New Zealand architect created a rectangular square out of bricks, surrounded by a flat wall and covered by a sky made of waving cloths. Stools are arranged in a circle, and there are numerous jars with powders and oils at the edge.
Installation “The Body of Wainuiatea” von Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta
Those: Photo Giacoma Cosua
We learn that it is a ritual space for exchange while singing a “Karanga”, the spiritual call of Māori women that honors the gods and the sacred islands of Oceania. Heta is Māori herself, a member of the indigenous Ngātiwai and Waikato Tainui people, and has just become a mother, so she was unable to travel to Venice for the opening.
But her installation is almost self-explanatory. It is a place to slow down, to come to yourself or to discuss together – less the superficially charged work of an activist than an aesthetic opportunity to encourage the visitors to “activate” themselves.
Seat in the Seabed Authority
The artworks are by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) financed, enter the foundation collection as commissioned works. They have meaning beyond mere viewing, explains Latai Taumoepeau: “Art speaks to people’s hearts. It stimulates thought, but also individual commitment.”
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Her own artistic work also has the function of warning that the ocean must be protected and of speaking to people about “how we and our cultural worldview are connected to the sea.” Given the completely unexplored, high-risk exploitation of the South Pacific, this is more relevant than ever.
However, the foundation does not want to rely solely on the relevance of sensory cultural experiences. She also sees her patronage mission as political. TBA21 is therefore based as an observer at the International Seabed Authority in Kingston, Jamaica.
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However, in July 2023, the organization and its 36 member states initially failed to adopt a binding set of rules on how the deep sea mineral resources should be managed or (in line with the wishes of Germany and France as well as many indigenous activist groups) preserved as a “common heritage of humanity”. .
The hope: In the World Heritage Site of Venice, the Ocean Space can at least convince a global audience of the urgency of this task.
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In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.
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