De Renava Biennale Explores Imperial Decline in Corsican Fortress

The second edition of the De Renava Biennale, titled "Roma Amor: The Fall of Empires," is held in Bonifacio, Corsica, from summer to 2 November. Founded in 2020 by art historian Prisca Meslier and financier Dumè Marcellesi, the biennale uses 18 works installed in medieval citadel spaces—deconsecrated chapels, derelict nightclubs, a former barracks—to examine the cycle of revolution, decadence, and collapse across empires from Rome to the present. The palindrome title "Roma Amor" allows the exhibition to be viewed forward or backward, emphasizing the inevitability of decline. Notable works include Bill Viola's video installation "Tristan's Ascension (The Sound of a Mountain Under a Waterfall)" (2005) in a hidden cistern beneath a 12th-century church; pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ali Cherri (grafted busts and skulls), and Hiwa K (a bell forged from war munitions); video works by Sophia Al-Maria, Youssef Nabil (featuring Salma Hayek and Tahar Rahim), and Shirin Neshat's "The Fury" (2023) shown in a former military building. A wooden pavilion from the inaugural edition hosts a film by Valérie Giovanni on Corsica's industrial past. The biennale collaborates with Centre Pompidou in Paris and Palais Fesch in Ajaccio, and features guest speakers including novelist Jérôme Ferrari. Director Basile Isitt notes that ruins have always been used to link with mythologies.