Page 51 - La Biennale di Venezia issue of World of Art Magazine

NORTH MACEDONIA
Subversion To Red
NADA PRLJA, RED-INESS, 2013 Commissioner: Mira Gakina.
VIDEO, VIDEO, SINGLE SCREEN, Curator: Jovanka Popova.
5 MIN., LOOP. PHOTO VIDEO Exhibitor: Nada Prlja.
STILL COURTESY OF CALVERT 22
FOUNDATION. Venue: Palazzo Rota Ivancich, Calle del Remedio, Castello 4421

In response to May You Live In Interesting Times, selected by the
curator Ralph Rugoff as the theme of the Biennale Arte 2019,
Nada Prlja’s project Subversion to Red provocatively stimulates
the search for alternative forms of art and socio-political
formations, by revisiting specific concepts and societal models
from the past.
The interdisciplinary exhibition, in which installation and
performative practices co-exist, exemplifies the Macedonian
artist’s highly particular theoretical and visual approach in the
world of art today.
Related to Rugoff’s concerns about current conditions, Nada
Prlja’s project encourages a return to the ‘forgotten’ notions of
idealism and ideology, as a form of motivation in contemporary
society. It proposes a re-reading and de/re-construction of the
postulates of Marxist theory and Leftist thought, in order to seek
their compatibility with today’s society, by introducing subversive
qualities and the playfulness of the artist’s practice, as a way of
indirectly influencing reality. (excerpt)

PAKISTAN
Manora Field Notes
NAIZA KHAN, BUILDING Commissioner: Syed Jamal Shah, Pakistan National Council of the Arts, PNCA.
TERRAIN III, 2013, GICLÉE Curator: Zahra Khan.
PRINT, 93 X 129.5 CM. Exhibitor: Naiza Khan.
COURTESY THE ARTIST AND
ROSSI. Venue: Tanarte, Castello 2109/A and Spazio Tana, Castello 2110-2111

The Pavilion of Pakistan will unfold across three interconnected
spaces. Central to the installation are archival materials, found by
Khan in the ruin of the 19th-century Manora Observatory. These
include the 1939 India Weather Review, a record of weather reports
from across British India, which form the basis of a sound piece
and a series of cast objects in brass. Manora Field Notes will also
include a multi-screen video installation, created from footage shot
on the island over the past decade, bringing together narratives
exploring geographies and shared histories.
Responding to the overarching theme of the 58th International Art
Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia May You Live in Interesting
Times, curator Zahra Khan explains: “Artists speak clearly and
powerfully about issues of identity, community, migration and
history. Pakistan’s presentation encourages the vision of the artist
as a lens through which the public can see the world, offering
viewers a glimpse of the sights and sounds of daily life upon
Manora Island and by extension into Pakistan and the surrounding
landscape.” (excerpt)

WORLD of ART 51