Venice Fellowship - Day 2

11:09 am.

I am sat in the G1 position inside the Pavillion itself, and having just had my first interaction with a curious visitor, it is giving me a lot of time to think about what it all means and how I can explain it in the clearest and most concise way.

The Pavillion itself has been left empty, remnants from last exhibition by Phyllida Barlow still stuck to the walls, distant memories left bare by the artist. It is intended to suggest the vacancy after Brexit, a response to our leaving, and the void left from the people who will leave our country. Is it a "freespace" if they are forced to go, and are we, the English people, really free upon our exit?

The platform above is the most exciting for me. Marcus Taylor, the artist, has created an Island above the waterline, above the other pavillions. I think the fact that Isola, the Italian word for Island, sounds so much like isolated makes it all the more poignant at this stage in the Brexit process.

It is also interesting to think about aqua alta as well. In a city famously known for "sinking" into rising waters, it suggests leaving the other countries behind as a way of surviving the encroaching perils below.

But it is also a positive experience to be here as well. Every day at 4, free tea is served for an hour to anyone who would like one. With wicker seats and bright yellow parasols to sit beneath, the platform provides a Freespace for people of every country to come together and connect over a beverage so stereotypically English.

It is a welcoming place to be, and I am happy that this act of generosity is what represents us this year at the Biennale.