Tuvalu

In 2015, the Tuvalu National Pavilion presents its curator, Dr. Thomas Berghuis, who is currently working as The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation curator of Chinese Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Together with Taiwanese artist, Vincent J. F. Huang, they will transform ideas from the Daoist classic, the book of Zhuangzi, into an immersive art installation that will examine free and spontaneous action in finding ways to respond to the natural world around us. The book of Zhuangzi is a noted ancient Chinese text speaking of “man and nature as one” and “all creatures living in harmony.” In today’s capitalist world, human’s incessant pursuit of economic and materialistic gains in the name of civilization comes at the expense of the natural environment.
The Tuvalu Pavilion correlates to the overall theme of the Biennale “All the World’s Future” by Okwui Enwezor, Director of the Visual Arts for the 2015 Venice Biennale, seeking a “fresh appraisal of the relationship of art and artists to the current state of things.” A deeper investigation into the assessment of “progress,” “sustainability,” and of “survival” will mark Berghuis’ and Huang’s efforts to speak up for Tuvalu and other small island nations facing crises due to climate change around the world.