Claudia Kappenberg

Swan Canal

(2011, Venice) A performance by Claudia Kappenberg and Dorothea Seror aka WHITE MARKET. Part of Infr’Action Venezia June 2011, Piazza Arsenale. Duration 2hrs.

Photos © Fausto Grossi, Brian Conolly, Claudia Kappenberg, Kin Waa Lee, Dorothea Seror

Infr’Action Venzia 2011. For SWAN CANAL go to 5:05min.

In this performance a personal domestic object is suspended in the public sphere. Two performers work together in a counterbalance whilst cooperating with the wind. The intervention reflects on possibilities of artistic collaboration and relies on a continuous engagement of both performers to maintain the tension on the ropes, which in turn suspend the feather pillow above the water and offer it to the wind that drifts along the canal. As and when, wind gusts pick up feathers and give them a ride. On occasions, the artists also shake the pillow, tossing feathers into the air.

The first pillow lasted about 2 hours. Police on boats which passed by occasionally ducked under to the delight of the passers-by on the bridge and walkways. However, eventually the security guards on an approaching boat refused to drive by; one armed guard jumped onto one side and wrestled with the performers before taking a knife and slashing the ropes. The pillow fell into the water under the loud boos of the surrounding audience, terminating the performance. The boat, which may have taken a VIP to the Venice Biennale, continued on its journey.

The performance was part of Infr’Action during Venice Biennale 2011, for which more than 50 performers worked with and in the public spaces around the Biennale. Swan Canal was conceived on site for the canal of Piazza Arsenale.

A video compilation of actions by fellow Infr’Action artist Chuyia Chia. For SWAN CANAL go to 5:05min.

Chuyia Chia: “Performance art is on the move. Infr’Action Venezia features a large number of international action artists in an intense, exciting and public event that goes beyond the mainstream. It took place during the Preview of the Venice Biennial, June 1-3 2011. Infr’Action Venezia is here and now, it's ephemeral, it has attitude, it's fleeting, it's avant-garde. And it is free.”