Panama Pavilion at 2026 Venice Biennale Features Monumental Indigo Hammock
In 2026, Panama will participate in the Venice Biennale with the pavilion titled 'Tropical Hyperstition,' created by the artistic team Messengers of the Sun, comprising Antonio José Guzmán and Iva Jankovic. At the heart of the exhibition is a twenty-meter-long hammock, handwoven and dyed indigo, designed to serve as a sanctuary. This artwork addresses themes of colonial history, displacement, and the human toll of constructing the Panama Canal, highlighting the contributions of Afro-Caribbean laborers and forgotten communities. The hammock, traditionally a domestic item linked to ancestral wisdom throughout the Americas, is transformed into a powerful spatial experience.
Key facts
- Panama participates in the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026.
- The pavilion is titled 'Tropical Hyperstition'.
- The work is by artistic duo Messengers of the Sun (Antonio José Guzmán and Iva Jankovic).
- The installation features a twenty-metre indigo-dyed handwoven hammock.
- The hammock is suspended as an architecture of refuge.
- The work addresses colonial memory, displacement, and the Panama Canal's human cost.
- It references Afro-Caribbean workers and erased towns.
- The hammock is tied to ancestral knowledge across the Americas.
Entities
Artists
- Antonio José Guzmán
- Iva Jankovic
- Messengers of the Sun
Institutions
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Panama Pavilion
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Panama