Pamela Rosenkranz's 2015 Swiss Pavilion explores human biology and Venice's artificial preservation

Pamela Rosenkranz represents Switzerland at the 2015 Venice Biennale with an installation in the Giardini. Her exhibition explores tensions between nourishment and dissolution through a fluid, sensory environment that resembles both genetic material and consumable liquids. The work emits smells, produces sounds, reflects light, and moves with controlled vitality. Rosenkranz approaches Venice as a historically preserved entity functioning like an artificial mausoleum, contrasting medieval foundations with contemporary tourism. She previously examined Venice's relationship with the sun in her 2009 solo exhibition 'Our Sun' at the same location. For the 2015 pavilion, she shifts focus to human connections mediated through immaterial product aspects and the Anthropocene's visible impacts. Rosenkranz rejects national representation, instead investigating universal human questions about perception, biology, and historical embodiment. She avoids tailoring work for specific audiences, believing artworks cultivate their own viewers through creative independence. The artist recalls discovering Venice's substantial scorpion population during her first Giardini visit, noting their mild venom comparable to bee stings. She anticipates Okwui Enwezor's curatorial vision and celebrates increased female participation in this edition. Rosenkranz remains uncertain about how Venice pavilion exhibitions influence Switzerland's domestic art scene.