song dong’s para pavilion at venice art biennale 2011

‘para-pavilion’ by song dong at venice art biennale 2011 image © designboom

for the venice art biennale 2011, four artists have been invited by curator bice curiger to create ‘para-pavilions.’ these large site-specific structures are designed to host works by other artists, in order to break up the expansive ‘illuminations’ exhibition. located at the entrance of the arsenale, beijing-based artist song dong’s para-pavilion is a maze-like environment comprised of 100 salvaged architectural fragments, including wardrobe doors, room dividers and pagoda panels. recreating his century-old family home and community, dong explores both his autobiographical history and the postmodernism of contemporary china.

an exhibition within an exhibition, the installation hosts similarly personal works by artists yto barrada and ryan gander. ‘the telephone books (or the recipe books)’ by barrada is a six-image series of her illiterate grandmother’s notebooks, with drawings in a code to identify family members. gander’s work in the para-pavilion is a model of himself, miniature and sprawled out of his wheelchair.

doors were contributed by members of the artist’s community image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

the pagoda elements create the feeling of a courtyard, commonly integrated in the design of communal chinese houses image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

view inside the red structure image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

view from inside the elevated structure image © designboom

ryan gander’s work in the para-pavilion image © designboom

detail of ryan gander’s work image © designboom

para-pavilion entrance image © designboom

overhead view of arsenale entrance, with yto barrada’s work at right image © designboom

artist song dong portrait © designboom

the 54th international art exhibition in venice, italy, runs until november 27, 2011.