Jevijoe Vitug's 'VIVAYLAN' and Anothony Bondi's 'Iron Curtain'. Photograph: JK Russ
The London Biennale project was founded in 1998 by David Medalla, a Filipino conceptual artist based in London, who assigns the theme for each year’s biennale. The event aims to challenge and transform the notion of the art world ‘biennale’ as a large state or corporate-sponsored event with artists selected by curators based on their geographical location, citizenship, nationality, race and ethnicity by throwing open borders and encouraging a more intimate and community-based dialogue between the artists and audiences. Over the years, the London Biennale has expanded with simultaneous satellite events taking place in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Berlin, New York, Boston and Las Vegas.
At this year’s London Biennale Pollination in Las Vegas, attendees literallyget lost in art. The multi-artist constructed exhibition, emerging as a satellite event from the London Biennale, features the theme “Maps, Mazes and Mysteries” writes Eleni Parashos for vrated.com.
Amongst those involved are Matthew Couper, JK Russ and Jevijoe Vitug. Couper, a New Zealand native and local [Las Vegas] artist, curated the London Biennale Pollination in Las Vegas with fellow artist and writer Vitug. He says the theme, although developed as an international concept by London Biennale creator David Medalla, has deep roots in Las Vegas.
“Vegas changes often, to the point where a map becomes useless after a few months,” Couper said. “It’s a city that operates as a changing structure and generates a lot of mystery for the people who come here. It’s an easy place to get lost.”