The theme of this biennale is “Stranieri Ovunque” – Strangers Everywhere – which could be interpreted in multiple ways. The show particularly featured the works of marginalized people
Saw lots of amazing art. Some of it, particularly the entry by Australia’s Archie Moore “Kith and Kin” must have taken months of work on site.
One standout artist (for me) is Omar Mismar, who makes Roman-style mosaics of modern topics, as shown above.
A powerful set of pieces were done by the residents of Lusanga, a village in the Congo with a long history of enslavement and exploitation by Lever Brothers (now Unilever).
In June 2023 we visited Singapore, first time for both of us. One of the attractions strongly recommended by my classmate Lauri, who had lived in Singapore for years, was the botanic garden. It was indeed worth the visit, especially for its huge orchid garden.
One area within the orchid garden is dedicated to Singapore’s tradition of developing custom orchids in honor of international leaders (mostly) and a few celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan. There were orchids named for Joe and Jill Biden, Barack and Michelle Obama, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Kamala Harris, and even Mike and Karen Pence. The Trumps were conspicuously absent. Perhaps, even in very polite Singapore, a plant named in honor of Trump would have been ripped out or peed on.
NB: Singapore is full of signs about what you can and can’t do (especially can’t), including in the botanic garden.
Japan does bathrooms better than anywhere else, including public toilets.
Singapore – June
We went to Singapore (first time for both of us) because Brendan was co-chairing a SREcon, but we took some extra time to sightsee and get together with friends and fellow alumni of Woodstock School.
We arrived in Japan too late (mid April is already too late, thanks to climate heating) for almost all the cherry blossoms, but well in time for the spectacular azaleas at Nezu Shrine. Full photo gallery below.
Our last months and weeks in the US were hectic, to put it mildly. We had already been preparing for the move for weeks: making and adding to lists of things to give away and enticing friends to take them, getting various paperwork we needed to be able to get into Australia (only Australian citizens and their immediate family members are currently allowed in), canceling subscriptions, insurance, utilities, etc. You don’t know how many financial and logistical ties you have to a place until you’re trying to unravel them all.
We had planned all along to do our own packing, to avoid possible COVID exposure from the movers. It would be a big job, and we started weeks in advance, putting everything we wouldn’t need to see or use for a few months into boxes. (Another advantage to doing your own packing is that it’s far less wasteful: I spent well over $1000 on packing materials, but we used clothing, linens, etc. to pad our breakables, and therefore less bubble wrap.)
