The award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Wu Tsang presents two new projects this spring in Venice, supported by VIVE Arts: a feature-length, silent-film reimagining of Melville’s novel, “Moby Dick; or, The Whale” (2022); and “Of Whales,” a site-specific installation part of the “Milk of Dreams” exhibition curated by Cecilia Alemani at the 59th Venice Biennale.
“Of Whales” is the newest iteration of her multidisciplinary project, set to coincide with the Italian premiere of “Moby Dick; or, The Whale” during the Biennale. The work comprises a large-scale, stand-alone film with 32-channel sound installation and a 16-meter LED screen set inside the structure of the Gaggiandre; utilizing the world-building potential of virtual reality, Tsang reinterprets the whale’s story from below the surface of the ocean, echoing the deep dive of a sperm whale through a day-to-night cycle. These subterranean currents reflect the Biennale’s key themes, most starkly the use of technology to challenge and transcend the anthropocentric world.
