Danish Pavilion, 59th International Art Exhibition. La Biennale di Venezia
We Walked the Earth by Jacob Lillemose
Giardini della Biennale, Venezia
April 23 – November 27, 2022

The Pavilion of Denmark at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will present a total installation by Uffe Isolotto. We Walked the Earth invites audiences to step into a hyperrealistic world where elements from idyllic Danish farm life of the past blend with strange sci-fi phenomena from the future to create a haunting image of an uncertain present.

Occupying the entire Pavilion, We Walked the Earth will present an unexpected drama that revolves around a centaur family of three in a transhuman world. Visitors will enter their home and encounter the inhabitants as they walk through the rooms containing their belongings, food and working tools. It will not be obvious what has happened to them and the world they live in. The whole set will be haunted by deep uncertainty. It will be impossible to tell whether it is tragic or hopeful, or perhaps both.

While the centaurs will at first seem strange, their struggle will not. Faced with the challenging realities of an ever-changing world, the family will experience a deep existential and ecological struggle. It’s the basic struggle of navigating a present that is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. Who do we become when the world we know no longer exists? Do we seek refuge in who we were, or do we look for escape routes in what we might become?

Best known for his works with physical and digital sculpture, We Walked the Earth emerges out of Isolotto’s enduring exploration into the intersections of the body and the machine and takes it to a new scale with this elaborate total installation.

We Walked the Earth is curated by Jacob Lillemose and realised with the support of a group of collaborators who will contribute to the installation with: model work (10 Tons), taxidermy (Fyns Naturværksted), humanoid parts (Thomas Foldberg Studio), clothing and accessories (Anne Sofie Madsen), sculptural elements (Soft Baroque, Maria Koshenkova, Ida Hy), scenic painting (Christine Bechameil and Marie Søegaard Tarpø) and graphic design (Line-Gry Hørup). We Walked the Earth will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated short-story conceptualised collaboratively by Isolotto and Lillemose and written by Lillemose himself.

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