Dayle Mace, Judy Millar, Dame Jenny Gibbs and Francis Upritchard in Venice (left).

Julia Holderness, one of New Zealand's Venice Biennale attendants (right).

New Zealanders will get to see the world class exhibitions staged at the 2009 Venice Biennale by New Zealand artists Judy Millar and Francis Upritchard for themselves when they return to Te Papa for the International Arts Festival in February 2010.

Julia Holderness, one of the venue attendants at New Zealand's pavillions at the Venice Biennale, tells us about her experience.

What was the highlight of the New Zealand at Venice presence for you?

I felt privileged to not only look after such interesting artwork, but to be doing so in such stunning and historically-rich venues. ‘Save Yourself’ is showing in three rooms in a 16th century Palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. Francis Upritchard's figures resonate delightfully in the lavish decoration of these entertaining rooms.
 

La Maddalena church, the setting for Judy Millar’s exhibition, is a beautiful quiet space, very like a temple. The elegant proportions contrasted with Judy's odd-shaped paintings, creating a dynamic discordance with the architecture. One day, someone pointed out to me some marble cubes which are set into the altars and normally hidden from view by a white altar cloth. Inside these cubes are relics—such as a saint’s finger bone. The presence of these relics means the church is consecrated.

Visitors were very conscious of the venues too, and often noted how both artists have responded to the venues in such refreshing ways.
 

What was your favourite national pavilion?

That’s a hard one; I’ll have to mention three I think. I really loved Fiona Tan, an Australian artist who is representing the Netherlands with an audio-visual installation entitled Disorient. What I particularly liked were a series of six extremely beautiful video portraits of Amsterdammers, offering the viewer an intimate view of her subjects.
 

The Ukrainian Pavilion was very experiential. The whole of the bottom of the Palazzo was filled ankle-deep with sand which you had to wade across to get up to the first floor which was transformed into a kind of horror-film set. There were coloured bulbs on chandeliers that would brighten and dim, and bursts of dry ice and eerie music were triggered by sensors. Another part of the exhibition was an enormous billboard advert for the exhibition which featured the Ukrainian boxing champion. It covered virtually one side of the Accademia Gallery, bearing the legend: “Wladimir Klitschko — Curator”. I’m still not sure as to his exact role in the exhibition.

Martin Boyce, representing Scotland, created a strong sense of displacement in seven inter-connected rooms of the second floor of a 15th century Palazzo. One entered via a set of large geometric stepping stones. Other everyday objects such as park benches and rubbish bins were altered into strange forms.

How has the opportunity benefited you in terms of professional development?

Because I work in Marketing and Communications, it was wonderful that I got to be there during the Vernissage period. It was really interesting to see how exhibitions were being promoted. There were lots of give-away tote bags, the occasional stunt, stickers on the pavements and some interesting print items. Being a city on the water, Venice has strict rules about posters and billboards, so there are not many opportunities to advertise in conventional ways. At the beginning we had a lot of press and media through the exhibitions. I was involved in talking to them and distributing images and information.

Contributing to the Creative New Zealand blog was a part of our role as attendants and I found that it really framed the whole Biennale experience for me. It meant I was constantly thinking of new topics and I’d always have my camera with me with an eye to my next blog. This was definitely a professional development aspect for me as I was new to blogging; a form of communication that is being used more and more in the dissemination of contemporary art.
 

Giving spontaneous tours was another part of my role. On my first day a group of patrons of the Tate Gallery turned up and I gave them a quick introduction. I learnt a lot about how to start conversations about the work.
 

On a more personal level, Venice was an amazing opportunity to meet people. Every day I got to speak to people from all around the world. I also met other people doing my job – English, the Scottish and the Singaporean Attendants. This group organised a pecha-kucha night – a format of quick presentations with twenty slides each. We all shared images of our art practices with a projector in a lovely old courtyard.

Being able to see that much art - I’ve had so many benefits. The whole Biennale has given me lots of perspective and ideas on what I want to do next.
 

What was the visitor response like to the NZ exhibitions?

Fantastic. It was generally all positive and both exhibitions provoked lots of interest and questions. We were often told that other Biennale visitors were recommending the New Zealand pavilions.

What was it like living in Venice?

Frenetic, exciting and sometimes strange. It was wonderful to be there for six weeks as I got to know it quite well. It’s such a unique place and after a while you get to see how it all works and how the islands are connected. A couple of evenings I found my street was flooded due to ‘aqua alta’ – high waters.
 

There is so much to do in Venice. That can be overwhelming. I tried to see lots of ‘old’ art and architecture as well as the Biennale. After six weeks, there are still a lot of sights remaining on my list for next time.

The tourism is very ‘in your face’ when you first arrive, but this gradually recedes and you’re able to avoid the well-trodden tourist tracks. I loved deciding which was the best place for my morning macchiato on the way to work. Gelato was a very important foil to the heat! It can also be a fun challenge finding good restaurants – tourism has unfortunately meant that there is lot of ordinary food which is really over-priced.
 

I found the Veneto region quite mysterious. There are so many islands: one is a cemetery and I learnt that there is another where all the stray dogs in the region get dumped. I also visited Torcello, the oldest settled Island in Venice. This is where people originally set up a community to escape the murdering Attila the Hun: who was ravaging the mainland. In the ancient church (1008) there are exquisite mosaics dating from the 13th century. Plague eventually decimated the island and the remaining population made its way to the islands that make up Venice.

New Zealand at Venice 2009

The New Zealand exhibitions in Venice were opened on 3 June by 2009 Te Matatini kapa haka winners, Te Waka Huia and are being seen by an average of 737 people daily. To read national and international coverage of the exhibitions, to take a virtual tour of them or read the blog of those on the spot in Venice, visit the NZ at Venice website.