Belgium and Georgia Announce National Pavilion Artists for 2017 Venice Biennale

Belgium will be represented by photographer Dirk Braeckman at the 2017 Venice Biennale, with an exhibition curated by Eva Wittocx, senior curator at M-Museum Leuven. Braeckman, born in Eeklo, East Flanders, will present a series of large-format photographs created specifically for the Biennale, exploring themes of image consumption and mass production. The exhibition will later travel to Bozar – Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels and M-Museum Leuven in 2018. Braeckman, represented by Thomas Fischer Gallery in Berlin, Rose Gallery in Santa Monica, and Baton Gallery in Seoul, called the selection a victory for photography in Belgium, which has never before had such a prominent platform in the visual arts. Georgia will be represented by Vajiko Chachkhiani, who works with Galerie Daniel Marzona. He will present the installation "A Living Dog in the Midst of Dead Lions" from May 13 to late November. The project analyzes the effects of social, political, and historical conditions on human experience. Chachkhiani, born in Tbilisi in 1985, studied in Germany and the Netherlands. His only previous appearance in Italy was in 2013 in Ancona as part of the Biennale of Young Artists from the Mediterranean.