The Biennale of the 1986 and the “Harmonic Waterlily”

Let’s go back in time and try to get a taste of past atmospheres.
It is June 25, 1986, the opening day of the 42. Biennale, and a large flower of 7 meters in diameter floats across the Gardens.
The work started his trip from Marghera, where it was built and has travelled all over the Giudecca Canal, surprising and delighting the thousands of tourists in the lagoon.
The waterlily is a sculpture made of colour and movement, but also of music, since within the central bell, there are sticks that, thanks to wave motion, produce a series of sounds.
It is therefore clear the reference to both the exhibition at Palazzo Grassi, “Futurism and Futurism” and the theme of the Biennale “Art and Science”.
Inspired by the “Bisone” (scenic boats that accompanied the historical events at the time of the Serenissima), the Harmonic Waterlily is described by critics as a true “total work”, combining painting, sculpture, set design and sound.
 
Here we propose some newspaper articles dated back to the summer of 1986: by clicking on the page you can enlarge them as much as you want.

 

Link to the work: Harmonic Waterlily