Achi news desk-
Hundreds of thousands of tiny glass beads will soon sparkle in the sun across the entire Canadian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Canada’s new entry into one of the world’s most prestigious art fairs.
But Kapwani Kiwanga, the creator of the work who was born in Hamilton, Paris, wants you to go past the cobalt blue glass shining in the Venetian light. She wants you to think of each bead as a character.
“The materials are documents of themselves,” he said. “They are witnesses.”
The beads used in her “Trinket” installation were made on the nearby Venetian island of Murano. Centuries ago, similar beads were used around the world as desirable trade goods and currency in their own right.
Their name, “conterie,” comes from the Portuguese word for “count.”
“I never use (materials) just because they are aesthetically pleasing,” Kiwanga said. “That comes into it at one point but it’s really their social, cultural and economic history that makes me want to settle on material.”
Kiwanga’s installation was unveiled at the Canada Pavilion on Tuesday, more than a year after she was named Canada’s representative to the 60th Venice Biennale.
Kiwanga has already placed works in art galleries and fairs from Saskatoon to Dublin and London to Istanbul.
She has won major art awards in Canada and France, and has received nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for her film work.
Throughout all that work, she says, her interest is in what materials have to say for themselves.
Sometimes, plants talk. One of her previous installations, “Flowers for Africa,” uses familiar flowers such as gladioli that originated in Africa.
They may look organized for a grand wedding or an upscale hotel lobby, but recreate flower arrangements created for diplomatic events related to independence negotiations for African countries. Gradually, the arrangements deteriorated, evoking emotions about the passage of time and the fleeting nature of pomp.
In other works, colors speak to the audience.
“Linear Paintings” explores hues believed to promote certain moods and used by industrial designers to cover walls in offices, mental health hospitals and prisons.
“I think of them as characters who have witnessed an event in the past,” says Kiwanga. “History is a starting point for much of my work, although I think about our present and sometimes our future as well.
“My bigger question or interest is power and power dynamics.”
She wants viewers to consider her work a kind of “gateway.”
“I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m not looking for materials that prove a point. I say who or how or what,” he said.
The work starts with a vague idea of something interesting that sheds some light on how the world works.
Then it’s study time. Popular and academic works on the theme are consulted, experts are interviewed, archives are combed. He says that around 60 per cent of the work required to create a new piece is done in the library, not the studio.
Kiwanga credits her anthropology degree from McGill University with giving her the research skills necessary for her artistic practice.
For her sense of the world, she gives some credit to Hamilton. She now divides her time between Canada, France and Tanzania, but Steeltown first showed her that the world is a big place.
“Growing up in downtown Hamilton was pretty diverse,” he said.
“In my Grade 1 class—I remember this—we had people from all over the world, some of whom had just arrived. The world was already in this little piece of my reality.”
Being chosen to represent Canada at the nearly 130-year-old Venice Biennale “was a great honour,” she said.
Canada has been represented at the art fair since 1952. This year’s version will see 63 countries taking part.
Previous Canadian representatives have included famous artists such as Alex Colville, Michael Snow and Stan Douglas – and that creates a certain pressure, Kiwanga admits.
“One person is chosen every two years, but there are so many other artists who could have been chosen and done something amazing. I felt a responsibility.”
But just being part of a global art conversation will be a highlight, says Kiwanga. And true to form, she already thinks of the Biennale as another kind of document.
“When we’re all together and we end up finishing our work, what’s he going to say about this moment?”
The Venice Biennale international art exhibition runs from April 20 to November 24.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 16, 2024.
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press
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