Timor-Leste’s inaugural pavilion at the upcoming 60th Venice Biennale will present Maria Madeira’s new project Kiss and Don’t Tell (2024), curated by Natalie King. Madeira’s exhibition coincides with the 25th anniversary of Timor-Leste’s restoration of independence
Born in Timor-Leste, Madeira was evacuated by the Portuguese air force during the Indonesian invasion in 1975. After eight years living in a refugee camp outside of Lisbon, her family emigrated to Australia. Around the time of Timor-Leste’s restoration of independence in 2002, she returned to participate in rebuilding the newest nation in Asia. One of the half-island nation’s most recognized international artists, Madeira draws inspiration from her own experiences of displacement and diaspora as well as Timorese traditions and narratives.
Madeira will use local materials such as tais (traditional textiles), betelnut, earth, and pigments for her site-specific installation at the Venice Biennale. It is a response to the Venice Biennale’s overarching theme “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere.” During the opening days of the Biennale, Madeira will stage a series of performances, during which she will kiss the walls of the pavilion with lipstick markings. At the same time, she will be singing in the indigenous language Tetun the Timorese mourning song Ina Lou, meaning “Dear Mother Earth,” a haunting refrain that refers to the cycle of birth and death.
King, who previously curated Yuki Kihara’s presentation about the indigenous third-gender Fa’afafine community in Samoa for the New Zealand Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, said: “Maria can imbue [the space] with her visual stories of trauma, hope, and healing . . . The urgency of her tales of matrilineal survival, resistance and cultural activism pay homage to the voiceless women of Timor-Leste.”
Her exhibition “Flowery Talk” is on view at Fundação Oriente in East Timor’s capital Dili, where she is an artist-in-residence. She took part in the Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6, at the Yogyakarta National Museum in 2021, and the ARTFEM Women Artists 2nd International Biennial of Macau in 2020. Madeira holds a PhD in art from Curtin University, Australia (2019).
The Timor-Leste Pavilion is commissioned by the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The exhibition venue, Spazio Ravà, is located near the Rialto Bridge. The 60th Venice Biennale runs from April 20 to November 24, 2024.
Timor-Leste is East Timor’s official Portuguese name.
– Courtesy of ArtAsiaPacific (minor edits by The Macau Post Daily)
– *Lin Ai is an editorial intern at AsiaArtPacific
Undated file photo of East Timorese artist Maria Madeira’s “Lips to Kiss and Don’t Tell – Study III”, 2023 – Photo by Juventino Madeira. Courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne.
