The Reviews of the World

 Diplomazija Astuta (Cunning Diplomacy) by Arcangelo Sassolino, Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, and Brian Schembri  I'll end my tour of #biennalearte2022 with some fireworks. Well, some molten metal plunging from the ceiling. @maltapavilionvenice2022 has a stunning piece based on Caravaggio's altarpiece The Beheading of St. John the Baptist which is in Valetta.  Gobbets of molten metal plunge from the ceiling into seven basins of water representing a figure in the original painting. The sound and bright orange splashes represent the violence of the scene. All rather thrilling. 

These lovely, simple pieces of pottery - all smooth and beautifully shaped have an exotic look about them. Imagine my surprise to discover that their creator, @magdaleneodundo is based a few miles away from me in Farnham.  Her lovely pieces are handmade from coils of clay which are then scraped smooth with a gourd. The glaze is burnished with stones and the pieces are fired multiple times.  #biennalearte2022 

  The Mongolian artist @munkhtsetseg_jalkhaajav has filled a series of small rooms at #biennalearte2022 with quiet and rather disturbing fabric creations. Elongated silver figures dangle from the ceiling and the wall while traditional music is played on the jew's harp. Inspired by traditional spirits and myths, she is aiming to tell stories of women, unborn children, and the fate of animals.

The textile artist Britta Marakatt-Labba doesn't sketch out designs before putting needle to fabric. Her beautifully quiet and simple designs are created immediately she sits down with some threads. She comes from a family of reindeer herders in the Sámi homeland of Sápmi which stretches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Her pieces show both everyday life and the ongoing threat of the harsh climate. #biennalearte2022

  The Haitian textile artist #myrlandeconstant uses sequins, beads and colourful threads to make brilliantly bright and sparkling images of life on her Caribbean Island. Her work is based on traditional flags which are used in Vodou ceremonies. This is a large piece - over 1m wide, and worth looking at in detail.  #biennalearte2022 

The Swiss artist @julian.charriere has collected several boulders that have been transported across the Alps in glaciers. The huge rocks are found when the ice melts, like a giant pebble stranded in the middle of an Alpine meadow.  Charrier has drilled a series of cylinders through the rocks, in the way that geologists extract core samples to study the world around us. It is fascinating to see the shapes and sparkles. The cylinders are laid out across the floor to suggest the movement of the boulder across the earth - a bit like the trail of a snail.  Part of the #parasolunit exhibition for #biennalearte2022 at #conservatoriodimusicabenedettomarcello 

The Hungarian Pavilion at #biennalearte2022 is filled with strange shapes covered in pastel coloured mosaics with chains draped around them.  The work was inspired in part by what the artist calls hydrofeminism - the idea that the water (tears, sweat, etc.) circulating in our bodies connects us with Mother Earth.  The pieces also make reference to Arthur Schopenhauer's Porcupine Dilemma -the difficulty of getting intimate when you're covered in spikes.  They look like they might suit a garden too.  #zsofiakeresztes 

The Ethiopian artist #EliasSime has used the innards of thousands of obsolete computers to make this huge piece. The wires, microchips and keys have been put together to create the sort of patterns and carvings that have sustained Ethiopian art for centuries. #BiennaleArte2022

With 90% of the artists at #BiennaleArte2022 being female, and no oligarch yachts moored in the lagoon, there isn't much art to tempt the multi-billionaire this year. These three rotating sculptures are about as close as you're likely to get to something, shiny and not obviously challenging. The Kuwaiti born artist Monira al Gadiri is inspired by the Gulf's petro-culture and oil drilling machinery. Representing drill heads, these 3D printed plastic sculptures are covered in iridescent car paint and rotate with the aid of a magnetic rotation platform.

It is hard to get across just how beautiful this huge tapestry is using photographs. The South African artist #igshaanadams has created an aerial view of the landscape between the Bonteheuwel township and the Cape Town industrial district of Epping. Despite Apartheid attempts to keep the areas segregated, people have walked between them, eroding their own natural footpaths, known as 'desire lines'. The tapestry is made using locally sourced materials including plastic, shells, beads, bone, string and wood.

  Apparently inspired by those horrible images they put on cigarette packets, this kinetic sculpture is noisy, gruesome and compelling all at the same time. You don't want to get too close for fear of being splattered with whatever is seeping through whatever those things are made of. But the movements still pull you in as you try to make sense of it all. Probably not one to have in your living room, but intriguing.