Circa 114: Article

Pryd maer Ddraig yn codi... (When the dragon wakes)

 

The Venice Biennale: 2001, Plateau of Humankind

The 2001 Venice Biennale was marked by a substantial expansion of countries and artists in attendance. The scale and magnetism of the event challenged readings of it as being a "charming anachronism"¹ or merely a "trade fair"². In reality it became a succession of exhibitions, interventions and manifestations that contributed to an everchanging dynamic of displays, propositions, opportunities and exposures.

Six months prior I realised that my own country, Wales, did not even have its own pavilion, nor a system or funds to set up an intervention. I felt this was the moment to take action, and with guerilla tactics of pushing forward for support, and with no funds to speak of, I approached the Welsh artist Cerith Wyn Evans to see if we could set up the firstever intervention at the Venice Biennale and actually interrogate government and Arts Council of Wales policy towards establishing an independent Welsh Pavilion. Wyn Evans graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1984 and began his career as a video and filmmaker working as assistant to Derek Jarman. In the early 1990s Wyn Evans started making sculptures and installations. His work deals with the phenomenology of time, language and perception and employs a variety of media including firework texts, horticulture, film, photography and sculpture. He has exhibited extensively in Europe and America, including the Hayward Gallery, London (1995) and the British School in Rome (1998), while other solo exhibitions have included Deitch Projects in New York (1997), Tate Britain (2000) and the touring exhibition The British Art Show (2000).

The challenge was duly accepted by Wyn Evans, and support was offered from the British Pavilion, The Art Newspaper, white cube and the editor of Art in America. Wyn Evans and I then had to come up with a concept. We decided the work would take on a political aspect. The work was entitled 'Pryd maer Ddraig yn codi.. (When the dragon wakes)'.

Acknowledging the conceptual tradition of Marcel Broodthaers and Dan Graham on the discursive nature of art, the project Pryd Ddraig yn codi was inserted in The Art newspaper. It replicated in translation an entire page from a previous issue. Wyn Evans questioned the use of language - what is lost and gained by the act of translation, how it informs and transforms meaning. This appropriation of the original article ('When the dragon wakes') reinscribes national boundaries divided by identity and history. The article reports on the insecurities facing the West's leading auction houses as China enters the World Trade Organisation and the financial and ideological threat this poses to them. The intervention seeks to expose how the language of symbols determines cultural identity and how they proscribe multiple interpretations. The symbol of the dragon is significant in the text as both China and Wales have a rich and very different legacy associated with this emotive, mythological creature. The Welsh word for dragon is 'draig' in the sense of 'warrior'or 'leader'; the dragon is seen as a symbol of national independence. From ancient times, it was the Chinese emblem of the Imperial family and represented a beneficent creature. Until the founding of the republic in 1911, it adorned the national flag. In Wales, the symbol represents spiritual energy and is a bringer of good fortune.

The project exposed the seemingly arbitrary yet concrete relationship between two cultures. It also raised the issue of cultural capital through the references to global economies. The project was housed at the British Pavilion and distributed by The Art newspaper. After Venice I then had talks with members of the Arts Council 31 who were working towards setting up a fixed site for the Welsh Pavilion. This has gone from success to success and it's great to see Welsh artists established as part of an international dialogue.

1 Charles Esche, Audio arts magazine, Vol.20, Nos 1 & 2, 2001
2 Jon Thompson, International Round Table Conference, Venice Biennale, 2001

Rachael Thomas is Head of Exhibitions at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Reprinted from Circa 114, Winter 2005, pp. 30 - 31