The Altersea Opera

Artists

Lap-See Lam , Kholod Hawash, Tze Yeung Ho

Press release

National Participation - Nordic Countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland)

The Pavilion will be book-ended by a huge and ornate dragon’s head prow and tail, which will soon make the voyage from its mooring on the frozen waters of the Stockholm Archipelago to the Venetian Lagoon. Conceived and conceptualised by artist Lap-See Lam (Sweden), The Altersea Opera is a poetic exploration of the existential implications of displacement and belonging which veers between the real and the imaginary to tell a story about the desire to stay and the need to move on. For the duration of the Biennale, the Nordic Pavilion transforms into a dragon ship, powered by magic sails made of stories and filled with mythological water creatures trying to find their way back to the places of their past. A richly layered audio-visual installation, The Altersea Opera is inspired by the spirit of the Red Boat Opera Company – the travelling opera troupe which popularised Cantonese opera in the 19th century.

Commissioners: Gitte Ørskou, Moderna Museet, Leevi Haapala, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art / The Finnish National Gallery, Ruben Steinum, Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA)
Curator: Asrin Haidari