Keep an eye on the “small” nations
Whilst fascination for the traditional ‘big-names’ of the art world is a natural instinct, it may be wise to turn towards the smaller nations. Gesturing beyond contemporary discussion of art, they attempt to steal the spotlight from the global audience onto their own, internal struggle. To name but a few, Mongolian artist, Munkkh-Munkhbolor Ganbold, made art from animal skulls in order to express his concerns over the continuous destruction of their ecosystem due to industrial activities. The Filipino artist, Manuel Ocampo, responded to the curator’s accusation that you were “no longer being able to see the Philippines without seeing Europe” by his painting Cook in the Kitchen, written with “The Development of Abstract Art Immigrant Version” at the very top. It may be worth moving from the traditional vantage point, and engage with the cultural and aesthetic diversity of an extensive pool of participating nations, especially at such a nationalistically-charged time.
Source: https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2017/11/04/8-fast-facts-2017-venice-biennale/
