Sara Tirelli's Floating VR Pavilion Launches at Venice Biennale
On May 9, 2019, artist Sara Tirelli unveiled a unique floating VR Pavilion during the Venice Biennale, showcasing virtual reality art that exists beyond market constraints. This pavilion, which is a Venetian cargo boat, sets sail every 30 minutes from 4 to 8 PM, departing from the historic Italian Communist Party dock and navigating the canals near the Arsenale and Biennale Gardens. Visitors don Oculus Go headsets for a 9-minute experience of Tirelli's VR work, Medusa. The main hub is located at Sette Martiri, with an additional station providing three headsets available by reservation only. Supported by multiple institutions, Medusa explores themes of contemporary European identity and immigration, drawing from Tirelli's research in Lampedusa and featuring 63 extras filmed at Gothenburg and Borås Art Museum.
Key facts
- Sara Tirelli launched a floating VR Pavilion on May 9, 2019, during the Venice Biennale.
- The pavilion is a typical Venetian cargo boat that departs from the historic Italian Communist Party dock.
- Trips run every 30 minutes from 4 to 8 PM along canals flanking the Arsenale and Biennale Gardens.
- Guests wear Oculus Go headsets for about 9 minutes to view the second act of Medusa.
- The project is supported by Nordic Art Association of Stockholm, Borås Art Museum, Scenotecnica Octopus, River College Virtual Reality, and All You Need Is Sound.
- Medusa addresses the crisis of European identity and immigration, based on real events and EU documents.
- The title references the Greek myth of Medusa and Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa.
- The shooting involved 63 extras, including unaccompanied minor refugees.
Entities
Artists
- Sara Tirelli
- Laurie Anderson
- Albert Camus
- Théodore Géricault
Institutions
- Nordic Art Association
- Borås Art Museum
- Scenotecnica Octopus
- River College Virtual Reality
- All You Need Is Sound
- IASPIS
- Kultur I Väst
- Konstepidemin
- Gothenburg Film Festival
- Film Studios of Gothenburg
- Artribune
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Arsenale
- Giardini della Biennale
- Fondamenta della Tana
- Sette Martiri
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Borås
- Gothenburg
- Padua
- Trieste
- Lampedusa
- Athens
- Greece