It frequently happens to stop in front of one of the events the Biennale brings to Venice and feel stunned. Sometimes, it doesn’t happen right away: perhaps you see something interesting, but only after investigating the environment and reading the panels are you fully able to understand what is actually happening there. And then you feel amazed, or aghast, or something in between. The truth is, that you’ve been hit by an unconventional thought, something provocative, something different and probably very strange, that never crossed your mind before. After all, that’s what we expect from the Biennale.
If you happen to walk into the Castello Gallery during the 60th Venice Biennale, you won’t feel those things. You will enter a white and comforting space, with a desk and a person sitting behind it, some chairs, and a few people chatting around. On the wall behind the desk, a flag is hanging: it has a red background and a yellow and green circle, at the center of which stands the African continent; you probably won’t recognize the flag, because it’s a creation of the artist. The person at the desk will ask your name and write it down at the end of a list, then kindly invite you to sit down and wait for your name to be called. While patiently waiting on your chair, you will notice that every now and then a door opens, and someone comes out: sometimes it’s a staff member, sometimes it’s a visitor just like you. When they finally call your name, you get to enter that door and sit at a tiny desk in front of the person who called you. The conversation starts: they ask you some questions about your bond with the African continent, if you have ever been there, if you have African origins or relatives; you get to talk about yourself and maybe confront each other on your beliefs and knowledge about Africa. It all happens in a very friendly and relaxed environment.
