The Reviews of the World

There are lots of firsts at this year's #BiennaleArte2022 . Poland brings the first national pavilion filled by a Roma artist. It works a treat. The walls of this large, usually echoing room are covered with appliqué panels, stretching from floor to ceiling. They show the mythical journey of the Roma across Europe, the signs of the zodiac and - most enchantingly - scenes of everyday life from the artist's home town of Czarna Góra including several cute dogs. All put together using fabrics sourced in the town.

A pyromaniac's dream, the Swiss artist Julian Charriere poured flammable liquid over the water in a famous fountain in Lugano, set it on fire and videoed the consequences. Apparently he's questioning the supremacy of humanity, I'm wondering how the pump kept going. Spectacular and probably not one to try at home. #Parasolunit , #BiennaleArte2022

The Latvian Pavilion at   #biennalearte2022   has been taken over by two ceramic artists working under the name   @skujabraden8   . A single room has been filled with household furniture and cluttered with loads and loads of pottery.  There are elegant vases, charming lotus lamps and then lots of body parts, many nsfw. A truly bonkers display.

The artist #kimyunchul has a series of connected pieces all manipulated by muon particles detected by machinery underneath a hole in the Korean Pavilion's roof. Chroma V is a 50 metres long coiled piece made from highly transparent laminate polymers. The internal motor causes the layers to bend, allowing them to change their brightness and colour. It is like watching a huge, space like intestine demonstrate peristalsis. Mesmerizing  

As part of @ Parasol Unit 's exhibition the forensic scientist turned artist #TeresaMargolles has created an elegant be-jewelled dress. Suitable for an award ceremony, the gown is covered in diamante which sparkle in the spotlight. The embroidery on the arm is different. What at first appear to be gems, turn out to be fragments of glass. They've been collected from the scenes of shootings in Culiacan, Mexico. The dress itself was made by seamstresses who often create gowns for the local beauty pageants, which are apparently awash with corruption.

                           In the USA Pavilion, the artist Simone Leigh has created a series of sculptures exploring her African heritage. There are straw roofs, giant bronzes in the form of ancient tribal figurines, sphinxes and cowrie shells. Meanwhile in Uganda's first exhibition at #BiennaleArte2022 Collin Sekajugo has manipulated stock images using paint, fabric and a sense of humour to make them more 'African'. It took me a while to work out that the reason the chap with the dreadlocks looked so familiar was because it was Richard Branson.

Gounod's Faust is full of tunes you know and love (I'm still humming the Soldiers' Chorus) and the Fenice's production is slick, swift and clear. Most of the parts are well sung - and Méphistophélès, played by Alex Esposito is especially good. It was several minutes in before I realised that the performance was in French. Slightly muddled COVID rules mean that although the leads are bare faced, the chorus all have to sing through face masks, which meant that things were somewhat muffled. It was also rather odd that the title role is played by a Michael McIntyre looky-likey. Very much recommended, especially as La Fenice is such a beautiful space. The production is in Venice until the end of April and is a co-production with Teatro Comunale di Bologna

I decided against visiting the much praised French Pavilion as the queue to get in was too long and instead nipped up the steps next door to the British offering. No queue, no crowds. And yet, in a few hours @SoniaBoyce was awarded the Golden Lion for the Best National Presentation. Take that you popular, tango-dancing French types! Perhaps other visitors to the Venice Giardini weren't as excited as I was at seeing Basingstoke's own @TanitaTikaram performing along with Jacqui Dankworth and Poppy Ajudha, led by the composer Errollyn Wallen. The recordings were made at Abbey Road Studios and appear to be of no great musical merit to these ears. But the effect of seeing them sing together for the first time - with Wallen nodding away in approval - was impressive. There's also a wall of 'Devotional' with cassette tapes, singles, discs and posters of successful women of colour from the British popular music scene. From Shirley Bassey to the Spice Girls and beyond....

A tiny chapel in the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello has been taken over by the Kent born artist Oliver Beer and a relay of organ players.  For the opening of the exhibition, the keyboard was being played for a continuous 24 hours, with not only music, but lights forming part of the performance.  The organ pipes have been replaced with pottery and glass ornaments - hideous cow shaped jugs, a vase in the form of an owl and several china cats. The notes being based on the resonant frequency of each item.   These new objects of devotion clash rather jarringly with the Madonna and Child originally painted on the chapel wall. Clever and slightly bonkers at the same time.  

 Doomsday by Si On, Parasol Unit exhibition at Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello, ~Biennalearte2022 The South Korean artist @SiOn has recreated Hokusai's Great Wave using mangled, discarded clothes - charred and twisted together like a huge, upturned clothes bank.  Surrounding the wave are Christian symbols, with Virgins and Christs roughly carved from wood.  There's also a large crucifix piercing the wave.  Nailed onto it is a plastic monkey and part of a rubber chicken.  I think this might be something to do with drowning in a sea of unnecessary possessions and the futility of religion to combat capitalism.  But then again... 

 Apollo, Apollo by Katharina Grosse, Espace Luis Vuitton, Venice The German artist @KatharinaGrosse has filled a large room with a huge piece of metal fabric - lots of tiny pieces of brass, meshed together and covered in a colourful print.  The fabric drapes from the top of one wall and then conceals and reveals various objects, such as a folding chair and a large coil of rope.  The piece is both mesmerizing and unsettling at the same time.  In a video recording, the artist describes her inspiration for ~ApolloApollo as being from both the Greek tragedy The Oresteia and the painter Francis Bacon. Unfortunately any lasting feeling of awe is rather taken away by the route out of the gallery.  It being the Espace Luis Vuitton, it is not so much exit via the gift shop, as leave by walking past three floors of luxury apparel.  

  Social Sacrifice by Drift, Church of San Lorenzo, Venice It is rather unnerving to be welcomed to "our very first aerial drone performance" and then handed a hard hat. However, no heads were broken by any of the tiny, whining aircraft that swirled around the historic church of San Lorenzo as part of #BiennaleArte2022 . The machine noise did conflict a bit with the music composed by Don Diablo but the space was glorious. The performance aims to recreate the patterns of a shoal of fish. All rather impressive.