While the 2022 Venice Biennale has only just closed, plans are already shaping up for the 2024 edition of the world’s most biggest recurring art show.
On Tuesday, Estonia became the first country to reveal details of its 2024 Venice Biennale pavilion. Artist Edith Karlson is lined up to represent the country, whose pavilion was commissioned this year by Maria Arusoo, the director of Tallinn’s Estonian Center for Contemporary Art.
Karlson’s pavilion is not yet titled, although its announcement said it would build on her 2021 show at the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia, whose three floors she turned into an environment that was intended to foster an alternate form of existence. The pavilion will also be immersive and will offer opportunities for participation on the parts of viewers.
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Her past works have focused on the relationship between humans and the environment, with animals acting as allegorical figures. She did not mince words when she said in a statement that humans have impacted nature in negative ways.
“I would like not to build up a gallery space with contemporary art objects,” Karlson said. “The world is a fuckup and we, humans, did it. There is no escaping from that situation. No illusions, only dramas. Nothing will ever change, and it’s both tragic and comic, serious and laughable, terrifying as hell and amusing as a circus. I think my job as an artist is to create spaces where the viewer’s fantasies are evoked because the most powerful dramas are in our heads.”
No other pavilions have been announced for the 2024 Venice Biennale, whose main show does not have a curator yet. The main show and the national pavilions are separate from one another, though some countries make attempts to have their artists respond to themes found in the central exhibition.