Paolo Canevari


I am standing in San Marco Square because my video-work Bouncing Skull is part of the 52nd Venice Biennale. The video is a continuous shot of a child playing with a human skull as if it were a soccer ball. It was shot in the former headquarters of the Yugoslav Army in Belgrade, which was bombed by NATO in 1999. The place had been abandoned ever since, and legend holds that there is still an unexploded bomb inside the dilapidated structure. As in all of my video work, every scene is uninterrupted, the camera is fixed, and I keep things as simple as possible. I do not edit the clips or do any other form of post production. I believe that art is a sum of different meanings, symbols, or icons that can help the viewers to find their own interpretation. I give as many references, information, and citations as I can in order to create a work that consists of many different layers. I see my work as a sort of virus, which enters the mind of the viewers—forcing them to move, shift, and bring into discussion their way of thinking. I define the final result as "baroque minimalism."