Jimmie Durham “Venice: Objects, Work and Tourism” – 2015

Four years ago Jimmie Durham was invited by Fondazione Querini Stampalia to work on a project about Venice. He began talking to all different kinds of artisans and workers in and around Venice and gathered their stories. The result is the exhibition Venice: Objects, Work and Tourism, an installation conceived for the Spazio Carlo Scarpa at Fondazione Querini Stampalia, which features new objects formed from unexpected combinations of materials and elements drawn from everyday life in Venice. The work puts together and points out the complex relationship between the tourism industries, the stories of local workers and Venice’s history. The exhibition is accompanied by an artist book composed of observations, texts and images that Durham collected during his Venetian stay.
The project is born from the collaboration between Fondazione Querini Stampalia and kurimanzutto, Mexico City with the support of Fondazione Furla, Dena Foundation, and ZERYNTHIA Associazione per l’Arte Contemporanea.