Ignasi Aballí: Correction, Spanish Pavilion

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation present “Correction,” a work by Ignasi Aballí and curated by Bea Espejo on view at the Spanish Pavilion during the 59th Venice Biennale. The project, conceived specifically for the Biennale, consists of a 1:1 scale architectural revision of the pavilion and the publication of six guides. Both intend to correct errors which the artist found during his research on the physiognomy of the pavilion (slightly displaced compared to adjacent Netherlands and Belgium) and Venice (both flourishing and on the brink of collapse due to mass tourism). Aballí rotates the pavilion by ten degrees, aligning it with its neighbors in the Giardini and rebuilding its interior, spatial memory, and relationship with the city itself. Parallel to this rotation, he will distribute throughout the Biennale six free guides pertaining to the themes of “Almost” (a conceptual tour through the pavilion, Biennale, and city), “Inventory” (observing the streets of Venice through the colors of its houses), “Stories” (showcasing sun-saturated slides of Venice compiled by Aballí in his studio), “Panorama” (Venice as seen through its minutiae and discarded details), “Horizons” (skyscapes and seascapes merging with the Venetian horizon), and “Landscape” (classifying concepts and phenomena pertaining to the atmosphere of Venice). The artist’s reimagination of the building and city is a dialogue with preconceived notions of tourism, correct form, and pandemic-era emptiness which comprises a worthy celebration of the Spanish Pavilion’s centennial as an exhibition space.