A bizarre congregation of cartoonish fish characters perched atop the Central Pavilion’s roof greeted visitors. They hold surfboards, electric guitars, and ukuleles; two sharks appear to be chewing plush toys shaped like missiles. By the entryway, two black ceramic oysters sit on a swing, eyes staring from valves ajar, while a purple crab’s giant claws droop from a red cement mixer suspended from the ceiling. WHAT IF THEY BARK 01–07 (2022), Cosima von Bonin’s installation of anthropomorphic creatures, introduced the whimsical gist of Cecilia Alemani’s “The Milk of Dreams,” the 59th Venice Biennale’s main exhibition.
Dedicated to exploring imagination as an agent of transformation, the show’s suggestive title is borrowed from a collection of short stories filled with quirky mutant characters by British Surrealist Leonora Carrington. Drawing from Carrington’s poetic and dystopic
