May you live in interesting times. Venice Biennale 2019

Participation in Biennale sessions Biennale arte 2019

The theme of the 58th Venice Biennale was a Chinese expression, which in the Russian interpretation sounds like “God forbid you to live in an era of change”

The foreword to my trip to the Venice art biennale may well be the quote of artist Andy Warhol : “An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he – for some reason – thinks it would be a good idea to give them.”

Artist Blagoslavova Elena Tweet

Pop artists Trip to Biennale

About Us

Artist trip to Venice Italy

Ralph Ruggoff, the curator of the exhibition, invited the artists to do two works each, in order to expand the boundaries of perception of reality and also Such an adventure fitted perfectly into the curatorial concept of the Biennale. When a minibus came to pick me up from the campsite, I was worried, not knowing what kind of conditions were waiting for me, sat by the window and began to pick up the phone at approximately regular intervals and press the button, regardless of what was outside the window.

My colorful patterns

Visual art or results of my Biennale

Based on artwork Andy Warhol

The result is such a situationist series of photographs, which is now included in my practice as an artistic device.

About The Biennale

Every minute of the way, 3-4 random photos were reflected. It turned out to be a 14-frame slide installation (since we drove for 14 minutes) reflecting, as it were, the reverse side of the Biennale, on the other side of the strait, the opposite and not very attractive picture. The context of the trip for me changed and expanded. In general, this influenced my perception of the pavilion exposition. I periodically returned to the idea that having got used to living in a wealthy world, in most cases, we are not ready to think about the seamy side of life. That comfort and predictability can end at any given time.

The fact that the world is on the verge of a pandemic was not yet known. The water in the canals of Venice was dirty and mixed with plastic and algae. It reminded me of a huge garbage island in the Pacific Ocean, with an area larger than Italy, which was then the most pressing problem. During the pandemic, the canals of Venice cleared, and dolphins even began to swim in them.

Venice is the city from which the scandalous fame of the artist Damien Hirst began in 1993

Pandemic foundation for the visual arts

The second video was shot deliberately using my new artistic technique. Only now I was sailing along the Venice Canal. To my surprise, the video installation turned out to be very similar to the first one. Virtually deserted Venice, deserted canal banks. Ideal terrain for an invasion. By 2019, the main agenda of artists in many countries was the problem of migration.