With Memory of Hope, a site-specific installation by the Kazakh artist set up in the Sala delle Colonne at Palazzo Giustinian, La Biennale pays tribute to Marco Polo.
In the 700th year since Marco Polo’s journey to Cathay, the Venice Biennale produced the exhibition of Kazakh artist Gulnur Mukazhanova Memory of Hope, a site-specific installation that is part of a wider programme on the Silk Road. Mukazhanova is internationally recognized for her ability to combine traditional techniques and modern art languages. She created a fantastic voyage into art and memory using cloth, ancient velvet from her private collection, wool, and silk. Her art evokes the routes and colours that Marco Polo saw during his travels. Weaving, here metaphorically including the meeting and influencing of different traditions and stories, and becomes a narrational tool to reflect on the deep-seated connections between East and West. The installation also invites us to question our future. Memory of Hope highlights memory’s essential role as a bridge towards the morrow, while art is the universal language that we can use to build a shared vision of hope and dialogue. The beautiful Palazzo Giustinian, headquarters of the Biennale, will house the exhibition and foster a living dialogue between classical Venetian architecture and the modernity of artistic creations.
