The intervention carried out in the Spanish Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale plays upon an error, and the result is an installation of minimalist roots, on a 1:1 scale. The error is that the pavilion was built slightly out of line with respect to its neighbors in the Giardini. And the installation involves inserting the corrected floorplan into the frame of the erroneous one, in the manner of two ill-matched Russian dolls, in a way that the ten-degree difference between them gives rise to a series of unexpected combinations which visitors are supposed to discover on their own. Such a juxtaposition of architectures that look the same but do not lock together perfectly creates a space in which the original interior is effaced completely, and where the placidness of the orthogonal gives way to the disquiet of clashing floorplans, impossible corners, and abrupt edges that together result in a disturbing labyrinth.

Spain’s participation in the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is organized by AECID and AC/E.

Fotos de Claudio Franzini. Cortesía de AECID