Four Giardini Pavilions at Venice Biennale 2022 Challenge National Narratives

The 59th Venice Biennale presents national pavilions that push against conventional boundaries. The Sámi Pavilion, situated within the Nordic Pavilion, showcases the voices of indigenous groups from northern Nordic areas and Russia's Kola Peninsula. Artists Pauliina Feodoroff, Máret Ánne Sara, and Anders Sunna confront issues of climate change and land rights; Feodoroff highlights environmental effects on salmon, Sunna discusses his family's ongoing 50-year legal struggle with Sweden, and Sara crafts sensory sculptures using reindeer materials. The Swiss Pavilion, created by Latifa Echakhch, features captivating sculptures in a dimly lit environment. Finnish artist Pilvi Takala presents Close Watch (2022), a video installation that examines power dynamics, while Loukia Alavanou's Greek Pavilion showcases a virtual reality film of Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus set in a Roma community.