Storms and Steve McQueen

It has been storming for days now. No better preparation for the film. Entering through the gates of the Napoleon built Giardini Publicci that has housed la Biennale di Venezia since 1895, the colonial British Pavilion is firmly perched at the end of the somber grand avenue like a castle atop a mountain. The British Pavilion has the utmost control of when, where, and how their visual information is presented. Only two images of the film were given to the press. Here Steve McQueen presents a new film, Giardini (2009), 30 minutes. With church bells and rain drops heard all around, as film starts it feels as if nothing has changed. Familiar sites and sounds from the Giardini Publicci are projected dually in a diptych fashion.

The opening scene displays a close-up of textured bark, left, and on the right confetti covered rocks with sounds of rain dripping. The main role, besides the Giardini itself, is played by elegant greyhounds that are shown trotting around the various pavilions, rummaging through garbage we assume belongs to the previous Biennale. The prized dogs act as beautiful constants and living sculpture that exists to ask questions about what the role of the Giardini Publicci is when the Biennale is not taking over Venice. The very English specific dogs mimic the many leashless dogs that roam the cobblestone streets.

As the audience gets comfortable with experiencing only majestic animals, nature and ambient sounds of rain, a figure in the shadows breaks the solitude. The imposition of the human character very locally disrupts the peaceful and poetic space presented. This represents leading colonizers such as Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, France and Russia that were the first to quickly takeover and occupy the park with national pavilions in the early 20th century.

The non-narrative film is about looking and acknowledging the loaded location that lodges the art world's grandest exhibition. The work universally utilizes visual language that demands visceral participation. The audience projects what is seen in the site-specific film onto the now clean and open Biennale. There is no room for dogs to freely roam the park. As one walks around the Giardini Pubblici, the film is brought into life outside of the pavilion. The confetti depicted in the first scene can still be found in front of the Belgian pavilion, soaked and eroded from the days of rain.

Giardini is not only carried into the immediate surroundings of the Biennale, but also throughout the entire city of Venice. Church bells and rumbling cruise ships become reminiscent of the experience. The formal simplicity of the visual elements requests complex questions of the purpose and role that the Biennale holds here in Venice. The persistent downpour enabled the piece to endure throughout the entire day.