Every two years, Italy's floating city whips itself into a technicolor creative frenzy with the arrival of the Venice Biennale. Inaugurated in 1895 to mark the silver wedding anniversary of the king and queen, it has evolved over the century, as countries began installing national pavilions to showcase their art, and the remit expanded beyond contemporary art into performance, dance, film and theatre. Over a century on, it has become a festival of creativity, with the backdrop of the most romantic city on earth only serving to highlight the wonders and oddities that can be found at every turn.
AnOther sent photographer Federico Ferrari to explore the city, where he sought out moments of calm and contemplation amid the cacophany, and juxtaposed them with sepia shots from the 1950s. These diptychs of now and then, shadows and shapes echoing in two very different times, are a step away from the customary view of the Biennale, all costume, colour and crowds. Instead, they take a path into the city itself – one renowned and enveloped within its history, yet always evolving into the future.
The Venice Biennale runs until November 22.
