Installation view, works by Citra Sasmita at the 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible © Levi Fanan / Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.
The four curators of the São Paulo Biennial 2023, the 35th edition, chose the theme ‘Choreographies of the Impossible’ in order to allow themselves the freedom to create something truly radical. Ex-Reina Sofía director Manuel Borja-Villel, artist Grada Kilomba, independent curator Diane Lima, and anthropologist Hélio Menezes set themselves an enormous task; in today’s world, what is possible and for whom is complex – but the biennial’s theme offers up a level playing field for ideas of change. The free-of-charge, public-facing exhibition is installed in the long, post-industrial Ciccillo Matarazzo pavilion, lined by windows on both sides and set in the Parque do Ibirapuera, which acts as a backdrop for the works of the 120 participating artists on view.
‘We inhabit many different bodies, marked by geography, marked by colour, marked by age, marked by gender so that what is considered impossible for me can be completely different from other people,’ Menezes explained. ‘So, figuring out how to bring all that together here in the biennial was one of our goals, organising it by addressing how to put artistic and political expressions together that deal with impossibilities in their places, impossible territories, impossible bodies and impossible contexts.’
There is a new representation of Indigenous communities from Brazil around the world, including the moving tribute to lost defenders of the Amazon Rainforest Floresta de infinitos, 2023, placed alongside works by Ahlam Shibib, Amos Gitaï and Kamal Aljafari looking at Israel and Palestine and a stunning, large-scale living work Non-Negotiable Condition, 2021, by Daniel Lie. Citra Sasmita’s exploration of misconceptions of Balinese culture through narratives painted onto large banners, Timur Merah Project IX: Beyond the Realm, 2023, is a standout work.
‘Choreographies of the Impossible’ set itself a difficult task, to give a level playing field to all ideas in an art world that can be obsessed with faddism and categorisation of the human condition, struggle and conflict – and it succeeded. The relief in the room at the opening was palpable, the smiles were huge, and the art was fantastic.
‘The idea of what lies ahead, the idea of the future is a little bit less distant right now,’ said Lima on opening day.
The 35th São Paulo Biennial runs until 10 December 2023.
