Swatch Pavilion by Joana Vasconcelos – 56th Venice Art Biennale

56th Art Biennale | The “Garden of Eden” Swatch Pavilion at Giardini by Joana Vasconcelos 

Among the many events promoted by Swatch, partner of the 56th Art Biennale, a temporary pavilion at the Giardini houses a fascinating installation by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, entitled “Il Giardino dell’Eden” (The Garden of Eden).

It takes some seconds for the eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the inflatable plastic structure: the “Garden of Eden” is a journey through an oneiric landscape, made of hundreds of luminescent flowers, that overturns the traditional notion of a garden.

The installation is composed of posies of artificial flowers, made with textile and optical fibers woven together; the flowers are planted on black cylinders each housing a lighting source, an electric motor, and a series of colored transparent disks that, by turning, change the flower’s appearance.

Such incessant chromatic change produces a sensation of movement like the entire garden being swept by a gentle breeze. The sounds produced by the mechanism inside the cylinders, resembling insects, blend with an electronic music score by Jonas Runa to form a complex soundscape.

Photos © Inexhibit, 2015