Artwashing
IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAXIMISE revenue after a two-year hiatus, the geniuses of the Venice Commune decided to kick off Art Biennale a month early this season, overlapping with another major art event, Homo Faber, on the island of San Giorgio.
Obviously it poured down, turning the city into a damp Commedia d’arte set of weeping curators, staggering partygoers and implacable boatmen refusing to take anyone anywhere on the perilous spring tides.
My week started fairly gently, with a dinner at home for British artist Philip Colbert, in town to stage a stunt for NFT project. An 18-metre inflatable lobster duly set off from Marghera next morning to be floated past San Marco on a barge, but the planning hadn’t extended to finding a boat for event photographer Dave Benett. Cue yours truly collecting Dave from the rioting hordes swarming the Accademia dock and battling with the currents for three hours in my trusty but distinctly unspeedy wooden San Pieroto.
