Container Complex as Urban Sculpture

 

The Biennale functions within the open communal urban expanse, and by means of the complex of containers creates a kind of urban sculpture that is both present and discerned in the public environment. The avoidance of holding an exhibition inside an art museum or gallery is based on the desire to reach out to new audiences and to connect the art experience to the urban experience of the town and its residents.

 

The sculptural container complex creates an alternative to the conservatively institutionalized exhibition space of the likes of an art museum or gallery, and successfully draws the viewers’ attention and focuses it on a complex within the open environment that is both impressive and accessible to everyone.

 

The simplicity of design of the container complex can be likened to the ease with which, in a child’s game, building blocks can be laid one on top of the other, or side-by-side, to construct a large imposing complex structure. The modular components and the simple assembly method enable a good deal of constructional flexibility by means of the addition or removal of separate units as required.

 

The steel container radiates massive strength and considerable durability. Its adaptability and ease of handling so that it can be rapidly raised and transported, enables a large, impressive, and powerful complex to be built in a public environment within a short space of time. Moreover, the complex can be dismantled as fast as it has been constructed, and the large impressive complex will eventually disappear within less than a day.

 

There is a natural connection between the containers and the port; they are usually to be found inside the port area in activities connected with cargoes, handling, and transportation. This natural connection creates a certain amount of confusion with regard to the container’s functions in the port as against its functions in the art exhibition as an alternative space for display purposes and as a modular means of assembling a large exhibition complex.

 

The two sculptural assemblies of containers create between them a common environment and a connective path, which heightens the influence of the exhibition on the whole area that is presently being reexamined by the local residents and the visitors who would otherwise not have come to this place.