It’s been a great week here in Venice, attending the opening of the Biennale! I feel so honoured to have been invited to compose an electronic work to accompany part of my friend Parul Thacker’s exhibit at the Palazzo Vendramin Grimani. Parul’s suspended hand-sewn double-sided stitched drawings were partly inspired by our collective experience while on the Arctic expedition/residency last year. The installation is located on the ground floor of this historic Palazzo, overlooking Venice’s Grand Canal. It’s fitting that water is nearby, as that is a theme that Parul and I discussed in detail during our collaboration’s conceptualization. My electronic piece features audio that I recorded while I was in the Arctic last year, such as the sea lapping up on shore on one of our landings, melting ice, glaciers calving, the Arctic wind, and seabirds. I only started composing this piece after Parul completed her stitched drawings. I wanted to be fully inspired by her amazing creation. Her work is detailed but delicate, soothing and introspective, and spiritual. My composition attempts to convey the same sentiments.
If you’ll be in Venice between April 20 to November 24, 2024, please visit this wonderful collateral exhibition of the Biennale, Per non perdere il filo. This exhibition of fabrics features more of Parul’s works along with that of the talented French artist, Karine N’guyen Van Tham.
I can’t thank enough Parul and the amazing staff at the Palazzo for having me be part of this wonderful collaboration. Many thanks also to the Canada Council for the Arts and the SOCAN Foundation for providing the travel grant to help subsidize my travel expenses. Carbon offsets for travel provided by Less.ca.
I am a huge art buff so needless to say it has been a dream come true to be here in Venice this week to attend the Biennale. This arts festival is often described as the world’s biggest and I can vouch for that first-hand. There are a lot of people here and there are so many exhibits to see.
Lisa and I actually visited Venice over 20 years ago so it’s been nice to visit the less touristy spots this time around. We’ve been getting around by the local transit system’s network of boats. One day, we went to neighbouring islands, including Murano, so much artistic glass shops. And we also made a stop at San Michele to pay our respects to the great, Igor Stravinsky.
