2022 Venice Biennale – ‘The Milk of Dreams’

By Joe Bulman

Andrea Avezzù, Venice’s Arsenale shipyard, a venue for the contemporary art, 2019, Photography, Venice, https://galeriemagazine.com/venice-biennale-2019-guide/.

One of the world’s biggest art exhibitions, the Venice Biennale, has just announced its 59th iteration, due to open from April 23 to November 27 this year. As with any current art exhibition, the Biennale has faced a series of delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The biennale will be curated by Cecilia Alemani, who is the Director and Chief Curator of High Line Art in New York. The show is entitled ‘The Milk of Dreams’ which references the work of the artist Leonora Carrington. Featuring the work of 213 artists from across the globe, the Biennale will begin in the central pavilion of the Giardini before making its way through various Venetian venues.  

According to a statement by Alemani with ARTnews, the Biennale will focus on “the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; the connection between bodies and the Earth.” This is discussed further by Alemani, who adds, “The exhibition is rooted in posthuman thought…many contemporary artists are imagining a posthuman condition challenging the presumed Western condition using the white man as a measure of all things. They propose difference alliances, fantastic bodies. This is why the exhibition includes a large amount of female and gender nonconforming artists.” Very few of the artists chosen to exhibit are internationally renowned. The small number of well-known artists are largely women, such as Barbara Kruger and Nan Goldin. Progressive attitudes in the displaying of work by a diverse variety of artists is a phenomenal step in the future of art exhibiting, especially for such a global showcase of artmaking.  

Alberta Whittle, Matrix Moves, Mixed Media, Various Locations. https://www.albertawhittle.com/how-flexible-can-we-make-the-mouth.html. https://www.london-unattached.com/frieze-london-2021-review/.

Creative Scotland has also announced that Alberta Whittle will represent Scotland. This will be the 10th commission by the Scotland + Venice partnership with Creative Scotland. Whittle works in film, sculpture, print and performance and looks to current events in comparison with research on African diaspora, xenophobia, and decolonisation.  

Sonia Boyce, Missionary Position II, 1985, Watercolour, pastel and crayon on paper, 123.8 x 183 cm, Tate Collection. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/boyce-missionary-position-ii-t05020.

Alongside Whittle, representing Great Britain this year is Sonia Boyce, who gained her reputation during the Black Arts Movement in the 1980s. The British Pavilion will feature a solo exhibition of new work from Boyce. Her work tackles notions of race through performance and a range of mixed media projects. The British Council have had autonomy over the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1937 and have included artists such as Sarah Lucas and Phyllida Barlow. Boyce is the first Black woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale and is also the first Black woman to enter the Tate’s art collection. This illustrates the Venice Biennale’s progress toward inclusive art practice. 

Notes:

Alberta Whittle Website. “How Flexible Can We Make the Mouth.” Accessed February 5, 2022. https://www.albertawhittle.com/how-flexible-can-we-make-the-mouth.html. 

British Council. “Sonia Boyce OBE.” Accessed February 5, 2022. https://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/sonia-boyce-obe-ra-british-pavilion-artist-2021. 

DesignBoom. “The 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale Di Venezie.” Accessed February 5, 2022. https://www.designboom.com/art/venice-biennale-list-artists-main-exhibition-milk-of-dreams-02-03-2022/. 

Greenberger, Alex. “Venice Biennale Names 213 Artists for ‘Transhistorical’ 2022 Edition.” Last modified February 2, 2022. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/venice-biennale-2022-artist-list-1234617574/. 

La Biennale Di Venezie. “Biennale Arte 2022: The Milk of Dreams.” Accessed February 5, 2022. https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/biennale-arte-2022-milk-dreams. 

Scotland + Venice. “Alberta Whittle.” Accessed February 5, 2022. https://scotlandandvenice.com/news/alberta-whittle/. 

Tate Resources. “Who is Sonia Boyce?” Accessed February 5, 2022. https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-sonia-boyce.