Speak Robert

It was only for three days, and it probably couldn’t have lasted more due to its intense interaction with the public. The Artists’ Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2017 hosted “Speak Robert”, a newly commissioned work by Italian-born artist Laura Malacart, who dragged visitors into a stimulating and thought-provoking investigation on what on earth does Scottish botanist Robert Fortune (1812-1880) have in common with Matt Damon (yes, Matt Damon).

  To understand this premise, Malacart put herself in the foreground with a complex research on identity, politics and colonialism. Within a small white room at the Salizada Seriman, a tiny alley in Venice, she led a proper history lecture using several art pieces as means of narration, and comparison. In other words, she used a series of objects, props, written notes and sculptures, operated as a prompt to a cyclical narrative from the perspective of history and global trade.

Her work is concerned with language and the politics of the voice, where even something as trivial as a 150 million dollars zombie movie (The Great Wall, a Chinese-US co-production directed by Zhang Ymou) deals with contemporary issues on identity in a globalized post-colonial world. Participants were introduced to interesting anecdotes on the Honourable East India Company and sign language, learning how to use basic skills to interact with each other, becoming aware of language as an identity apparatus. Malacart generously shares perspectives and makes sure you are all listening.

The Artists’ Pavilion
Laura Malacart. Speak Robert
curated by Camilla Palestra
Biennale Arte 2017
Salizada Seriman, Venice