Luanda’s complex past and present becomes the focus of the Angola Pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale. This examination of the city, whilst also a response to the biennale’s theme, is also a clear continuation of the practices of both the artist selected, Edson Chagas, and the curatorial duo involved, ‘Beyond Entropy’ (Paula Nascimento, Stefano Rabolli Pansera), who curated the Angola Pavilion for last year’s International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
Chagas’ photographic series Found Not Taken is the basis for the work shown at the pavilion. An ongoing project that in fact takes in different locations, including London and Newport, Beyond Entropy decided to use Chagas’ images that focus upon Angola’s capital. Found Not Taken is a systematic documentation and cataloguing of abandoned objects around the cities that have been repositioned or rearranged by the artist, then photographed, repurposing the objects for the benefit of the project. This act of recycling the abandoned refers to an Angolan tendency for appropriating and reusing objects for functional purposes. Thus, the notion of producing artworks that are subtle aesthetic arrangements between location and found object, whilst having roots in the sculpture of the French artist Duchamp, takes on new meaning within the cultural context of the African country.
The rearranging of discarded objects explores the various dichotomies that exist in the city as it undergoes rapid restructuring; how both the planned and the unplanned combine to shape a place. Chagas’ work is displayed in the pavilion in a photographic installation of 23, large format photo posters of his work, displayed in piles. The viewer can take away the images, and is thus allowed to create their own experience of the city through their individual path through the images. The experience of viewing his works in this way creates an alternative viewpoint and taxonomy of Luanda, and being permitted to take away the works questions personal interaction with a city and whether it is ever possible to fully understand a geographical location. Taking the posters away, the photographs becomes an enigmatic series of images that examine the seeming impossibility of providing a complete, ‘encyclopedic’ view of a city.

Encyclopedic Luanda: Angola At The Venice Biennale

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