To Swan Around

August 2022

Recently I was lucky enough to visit two international contemporary art exhibitions, Documenta in Kassel, Germany and the Biennale in Venice, Italy. This was a first for me and they both completely blew me away.

Art exhibitions aside ... just to travel - to see and experience new places, and to eat ... sigh (OK, we wont go down that rabbit hole). But mostly importantly, we take the time to pause, to notice - we appreciate all those small things we overlook in our hurried daily lives.

In Kassel it was the swans - just doing what swans do best - taking a moment on the side of the canal.

Fast forward to the Venice Biennale, the 'Olympics' of the art world, the Belgium Pavilon being my favourite. Here the artist Francis Alys documents children's play, and their creative relationship with our world. But it was the curated exhibition space that really struck a chord - it's painted in a soft dusty pink - the colour choice is soothing, calming - it allows you to pause for a few moments  ('cos trust me the the Biennale is like a smorgasbord of art that you could never ever hope to consume).

And so the swans and this particular pavilion lead to this small body of work. An appreciation for a single quiet moment in time - nothing more.