Archie Moore, an Indigenous Australian artist, won the top prize at the Venice Biennale for his installation titled “kith and kin.” Moore’s installation includes a monumental family tree drawn in chalk on the walls and ceiling of the Australia Pavilion. The family tree encompasses 3,484 people and is said to stretch back 65,000 years. In the center of the room, there is a huge table covered with government documents relating to the deaths of Indigenous Australians in police custody. The installation was praised for its strong aesthetic, lyricism, and invocation of shared loss for occluded pasts.
Moore’s pavilion had already received critical acclaim prior to the prize announcement, with critics describing it as a must-see for all Biennale visitors. The hand-drawn family tree was so dense in some areas that it was impossible to make out the names, highlighting the concept that we are all related in some way. In his acceptance speech, Moore emphasized the shared responsibility of caring for all living things now and into the future, emphasizing unity and interconnectedness among all beings.
Another major award at the Biennale went to Mataaho Collective, a group of four Maori women from New Zealand, who won the Golden Lion for their installation evoking a traditional Maori ceremony mat, including childbirth. The luminous installation was described as a “womb-like cradle” casting a dazzling pattern of shadows across the gallery floor. The Silver Lion for the most promising young artist in the main exhibition was awarded to Karimah Ashadu, a British Nigerian based in Hamburg, Germany, for her work “Machine Boys,” depicting illegal taxi drivers in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Venice Biennale, in its 60th edition, was founded in 1895 as a global exhibition of contemporary art. It features pavilions for individual countries to present their own shows, with Belgium being the first to complete one in 1907. The Biennale has expanded to include exhibitions in various locations across the city, including office blocks, decrepit mansions, and even a women’s prison. The central exhibition this year, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, features work by artists from diverse backgrounds, including migrants and Indigenous communities.
The Biennale, which opened to the public after a week of previews, will run until November 24th. With artists from around the world showcasing their work in various mediums and styles, the event continues to be a significant platform for contemporary art on an international scale. Moore’s win as the first Australian artist to take the prestigious Golden Lion highlights the diversity and talent represented at the Biennale, celebrating artistic expression and creativity from different cultures and backgrounds.
