Jasper & Joanna Malinowska present multi-channel documentary for Poland at 2015 Venice Biennale

Jasper & Joanna Malinowska are representing Poland at the 2015 Venice Biennale with a multi-channel documentary installation in the Giardini pavilion. Their project, inspired by Werner Herzog's film Fitzcarraldo, involved staging an opera performance of Moniuszko's Halka in the Haitian village of Cazale before a local audience. The work examines mechanisms of national identity and representation, particularly as the artists have spent their careers based outside Poland, primarily in New York. They describe the piece as a situational documentary that masquerades as fiction, intended for all audiences without distinction between peers and the general public. The artists view representing their homeland as an honor but also engage in critical reflection on how national identities are constructed and displayed. Their earliest memory of the biennale is a joint trip to the 1993 edition. The pavilion project offers a special opportunity for artists living abroad to connect with Poland's art scene, where such endeavors are closely observed and discussed. The questionnaire response was published online exclusively on 8 May 2015 by ArtReview as part of a series leading up to the biennale's opening.