Fabrice Gygi's Monotreme Space at Venice Biennale 2009

For the 2009 Venice Biennale, Swiss artist Fabrice Gygi presented 'Pneuma', an inflatable structure originally used by military and humanitarian organizations to transport water or fuel in hostile territories. Installed in the church of San Stae, the 14 x 15 meter object occupied nearly the entire floor space, obstructing views of the building and forcing visitors to navigate a new physical and symbolic path. The project faced approval challenges from the clergy and Rome's Monuments and Sites authority. Gygi's practice, rooted in engraving and drawing from his early work 'Psycopompe' (1994) featuring a platypus, explores a 'monotreme space' where opposing qualities—protection/intrusion, material/spiritual, full/empty—are held in tension. His objects, such as 'Table-tente' (1993), 'Caillebotis' (2004), 'Escape Boat' (2004), and the 'Airbag Generation' series, transform observed items through simplification and caricature, creating functional yet ambiguous tools for survival, combat, or signaling. The artist's realism emerges from amplifying contradictions, producing a precarious balance that threatens to rupture. Gygi exhibited at San Stae while Silvia Bächli occupied the Swiss Pavilion in the Giardini.