Stan Douglas's 2011 ≠ 1848 at Venice Biennale 2022, with a speculative dialogue set in 2048

Stan Douglas's exhibition 2011 ≠ 1848 is featured at the Canadian Pavilion in the Giardini during the 59th Venice Biennale from 23 April to 27 November 2022. A second installation by Douglas will be shown concurrently at Magazzini del Sale No. 5 in Dorsoduro 262. Both presentations are commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The work includes large-scale composite photographs recreating global protests from 2011, such as the London riots following Mark Duggan's death, the Arab Spring in Tunis, and Occupy Wall Street on the Brooklyn Bridge, alongside a reference to the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riots. Douglas employed a Phase One 150-megapixel camera with multiple exposures and extensive postproduction. In a fictional dialogue set on 29 February 2048 in Stanley Park, Vancouver, retired curator Reid Shier converses with Douglas's brain in a MindGlobe, reflecting on past collaborations including the 2002 work Journey into Fear and a 2026 film adaptation of Flaubert's Sentimental Education shown in London and New York. The discussion touches on themes of revolution, art's role as a filter for consciousness, and historical connections between 1848 and 2011 uprisings. Craig Burnett, a London-based writer, authored the source material.