Nabatele

The open-air installation “Nabatele”, a floating synagogue by artist and architect Anna Kamyshan, premieres as a Collateral Event of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Curated by Maria Veits and Yevgeniy Fiks, and organised by the Montreal Jewish Museum, the project unfolds across the Venetian lagoon.

Suspended above the water on a monumental floating rock, the synagogue appears as a luminous presence in the sky, visible day and night from across the lagoon towards St Mark’s Square. While historic Venetian synagogues of the sixteenth century remain hidden within upper floors, “Nabatele” reimagines this elevated condition as a public and visible symbol, asserting presence rather than concealment.

The work draws on the imagery of René Magritte’s “The Castle in the Pyrenees” (1959), evoking a state of suspended gravity and fragile stability. Its title, derived from a Yiddishised word meaning “to call attention” or “alarm in times of danger”, reflects contemporary global uncertainty marked by conflict and displacement.

Constructed as a helium-filled, double-membrane structure, the installation rises up to twenty-five metres above the water. The upper section retains the architectural clarity of a place of worship, while the rock below suggests fragments of land and belonging. In changing weather conditions, the work shifts between sky and water, maintaining a constant dialogue with its environment.

“Nabatele” also reflects the artist’s layered identity, rooted in Ukrainian, Jewish and Russian cultural backgrounds.