This publication documents the artistic research for Sansour's project for
the Danish Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale: a dark science
fiction narrative set after an eco-disaster,
evolving into an intimate dialogue about memory, exile
and nostalgia.
Heirloom documents the development of the artistic research for
Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour's project for the Danish Pavilion at
the 58th Venice Biennale. It explores how recurrent notions in Sansour's
oeuvre, such as memory, trauma, identity, and belonging, intertwine with
the discourses of science fiction and environmental disaster narratives.
The volume also explores what it means to produce work from within
contested geographies, specifically considering how, through research and
the process of production, the artist grapples with complex issues of
national representation. In keeping with the focus in this series on the
research that informs the elaboration of an artist's work over time, the
material for this publication has been collated in parallel with its
development over the past year.
Published on the occasion of the exhibition at the Danish Pavilion at the
58th International Exhibition of visual arts – La Biennale di Venezia,
from May 11 to November 24, 2019.
Edited by Anthony Downey, “Research/Practice” focuses on artistic research
and how it contributes to the formation of experimental knowledge systems.
Drawing on preliminary material such as diaries, notebooks, audiovisual
content, digital and social media, informal communications, and abandoned
drafts, the series examines the interdisciplinary research methods that
artists employ in their practices. Each volume endeavors to ask: In their
often speculative and yet purposeful approach to generating research, what
forms of knowledge do artists produce?
Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour (born 1973 in East Jerusalem, lives and
works in London) studied fine art in Copenhagen, London, and New York. Her
work is interdisciplinary and uses video,
photography, installation
and sculpture. Solo
exhibitions include the Danish Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale, New
Art Exchange in Nottingham, Nikolaj Kunst in Copenhagen, Turku Art Museum
in Finland, and DEPO in Istanbul. Sansour's work has featured in the
biennials of Istanbul, Busan, and Liverpool. She has exhibited at venues
such as Tate Modern, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; LOOP, Seoul;
Barbican, London; Third Guangzhou Triennial, Guangzhou, China; Haus der
Kulturen der Welt, Berlin.
