SIMONE FATTAL in Thus waves come in pairs, commissioned by TBA21–Academy
April 22 – November 5, 2023

Ocean Space, Venice – Church of San Lorenzo
Campo S. Lorenzo 5069
30122 Venezia

TBA21–Academy presents Thus waves come in pairs, an exhibition comprising two new commissions launching at Ocean Space in Venice for the 2023 exhibition program, curated by Barbara Casavecchia.

The exhibition Thus waves come in pairs, the title of which is taken from the poem "Sea and Fog" by Etel Adnan, sees the encounter between the American-Lebanese Simone Fattal's monumental ceramic and glass sculptures and a new installation by the duo Petrit Halilaj & Álvaro Urbano, co-commissioned by TBA21–Academy and Audemars Piguet Contemporary.

Simone Fattal’s installation Sempre il mare, uomo libero, amerai! (Free man, you’ll love the ocean endlessy!, after the poem "L’homme et la mer" by Charles Baudelaire) will inhabit the East wing of the Church of San Lorenzo, including two empty niches of its Baroque altar, with a group of monumental ceramic and glass sculptures created for the occasion. Among them are the figures of Máyya and her lover Ghaylán – a couple celebrated in classic Arab poetry and folktales and legends, differing from country to country. In the Persian Gulf, their story is that of two owners of a flotilla of vessels engaged in the pearl trade. Mayya’s fleet was more efficient, as her boats were quicker. Ghaylan pondered upon this; one day, after looking closely at a firefly, he had its wings imitated so that his boats could be moved by the fast speed of winds. He had invented the sails. Will humans still be able to find solutions in the future by learning from nature? Fattal’s installation will also include a series of glass spheres manufactured in Venice, inscribed with fragments of the vanished “lingua franca,” a mixed language borrowing terms from Italian, Arabic, French, and Spanish once spoken by merchants, pirates, and slaves across all Mediterranean shores.

For more information, please visit Ocean Space's website.