Biennial Venice 2024
Tesa 99, Arsenale Nord
Looking for the Ark
At Tesa 99, Vanmechelen presents ‘Noah’s Ark’, a contemporary interpretation of the iconic Venetian water bus — the Vaporetto — transformed into a floating gallery. This vessel, carrying a microcosm of our world, serves as a call to reimagine our world. It reflects the human condition and urges us to navigate the turbulent waters of our existence with awareness, responsibility, and hope. The ark is flanked by by Vanmechelen’s diverse installations, guided by the belief that “The Future depends on forgotten memories.”
Exhibition Details
Glasstress 8 1/2
Open from
20 APRIL – 5 MAY
29 MAY – 2 JUNE (boat show)
20 JUNE – 25 AUG 2024
Opening hours: 11 am - 6 pm
closed on Mondays
Vaporetto stop: Bacini
From the 1st of September, Noah’s Ark will find a new home in Venice
Partner of the Venice Pavilion
60. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte
The Venetian ark-vaporetto carries with it a microcosm of our world, reflecting the human condition. Crowded to its very soul, this ark transports figures - from Frida Kahlo to Albert Einstein, from Mahatma Gandhi to Mother Teresa - who are emblems of human genius and philosophical thought. Each of them carries a message that transcends the limits of time and geography. The canopy of the ark houses a congregation of near-extinct species, a poignant reminder of the Anthropocene. These creatures, half in our realm and half in another, are a call for environmental consciousness. Together with the space shuttle, they invite a contemplation of the dual nature of human progress. For we are the others, the 'Book of Genome' also shows. And finally, the artist reminds us with a big neon sign of the importance of history: our future depends on what we do or do not remember from the past. In the backdrop of the Biennale, ‘Looking for the Ark’ urges us to navigate the turbulent waters of our existence with awareness, responsibility, and hope.