Lara Almarcegui's Venice Biennale Projects Explore Urban Materials and Lagoon Territories

Lara Almarcegui is representing Spain at the Venice Biennale with two site-specific works. One installation analyzes the materials of the Spanish pavilion building in the Giardini. The other project focuses on Sacca San Mattia, a man-made terrain on Murano composed of industrial rubble and dredged matter, which is Venice's largest undeveloped space. For research, Almarcegui spent a week in Venice meeting architects and urban planners, identifying changing areas like a fungus island in Porto Marghera, an abandoned power station, and sites near the MOSE flood defense dykes. She does not see herself as representing her country but feels honored to exhibit in a space previously used by artists like Dora García and Santiago Sierra. The work aims to engage both local and international audiences by addressing contemporary Venice. Almarcegui's earliest memory of the biennale involves sleeping in a van at Trochetto car park. She looks forward to seeing the exhibition by Massimiliano Gioni. ArtReview sent questionnaires to artists in national pavilions, with responses published over coming days.