Exhibition views, Portugal Pavillion, Palazzo Franchetti, Biennale di Venezia, 2022
Films stills, Vampires in Space, 2022
Vampires in Space
2022. Three-channel film installation, 75' loop, video, surround sound; series of five poems on paper; architecture modules.
Portugal Pavillion - Palazzo Franchetti | Portuguese Official Representation at the 59th La Biennale de Venezia 2022.
"In space, it’s always night."
Vampires in Space, by Pedro Neves Marques, Official Portuguese Representation at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, curated by João Mourão and Luís Silva, is a narrative installation comprising a three-channel film, confessional poetry, and an immersive exhibition design conceived in collaboration with Diogo Passarinho Studio that transformed the Gothic architecture of Palazzo Franchetti into an unexpected spaceship within which the wistful existence, dramas, and routines of five vampire passengers unfold during a centuries-long journey to a faraway planet. The immersive scenography contrasts the Gothic Venetian style of the palace with a sci-fi and speculative sensibility, typical of the artist’s’ ongoing practice.
The straightforwardness of the title is intentional and allows the narrative to unfold unburden by world building. In a way, the title says it all. Together, the film and poetry offers a glimpse into the life of five vampires as they travel through space, carrying life to a faraway Earth-like planet. After all, in space it is always night and, having eternity at their disposal, vampires are the ideal candidates to roam the stars. In their solitude, away from societal constraints and expectations, this family of vampires recalls and reimagines their past lives, guiding the visitor through an open-ended narrative about the role of fiction in our lives, and in particular in lives marked by gender dysphoria or transgender experiences.
Vampires in Space presents itself as a tale with no beginning nor end, in which what matters is the journey and not the destination. Emma, the youngest vampire on board, is afflicted by amnesia, only remembering their past lovers’ scents and touch, never their names or faces, and finds solace in the comic books of her youth. Selena is a person of many lives, whose only wish is for this family to simply hold on a little longer. Itá, once been the commander of the mission, can now barely find the strength to leave her bed, while Alex is about to discover the true meaning of vampirism. Lorna, a cis woman who wished to live forever and for that reason was turned a vampire just before the mission launched, is now in charge of the mission.
Pedro Neves Marques resorts to the figure and expectations of what we consider to be a “vampire” to address issues of gender identity, non-nuclear families, queer reproduction, the role of intimacy and mental health today, and even our contemporary commercial cinema imaginary. The vampire’s imagined longevity, reinforced here by the physical distance from planet Earth and the notion of humanity, allows for a retrospective exercise that could be called “scientific autofiction”, anchored in Neves Marques’s own personal gender experience, as well as a political review of an extensive history of control over bodies and desire. If vampires have always reflected period debates on gender, from the Victorian era to feminist liberation and the AIDS crisis, how do they answer today to advances in biotechnology or the emancipation of queer lives and ecologies?
Vampires in Space is, as all of Neves Marques’s work, built on an equilibrium between forthright socio-political critique, an uncommon storytelling speculation, and the creative and emotional place of personal exposure, invoking a space of intellectual and poetic freedom for art.
- From the press release by João Mourão and Luís Silva, curators.
Pavillion Credits:
ARTIST: Pedro Neves Marques CURATORS João Mourão & Luís Silva ORGANIZATION: MINISTÉRIO DA CULTURA DE PORTUGAL Pedro Adão e Silva COMMISSIONER: DIREÇÃO-GERAL DAS ARTES Américo Rodrigues EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION & COMMUNICATION Catarina Correia, Joana Branco, Maria Messias, Sofia Isidoro PUBLIC PROGRAM CURATOR Filipa Ramos PUBLIC PROGRAM ASSISTANT CURATOR Diogo Pinto EXHIBITION DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE Diogo Passarinho Studio SOUND DESIGN HAUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT/PRODUCTION Nataša Venturi PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Maria Elena Fantoni EDITORIAL COORDINATION Renata Catambas GRAPHIC DESIGN & VISUAL IDENTITY Remco Van Bladel Studio PRESS & COMMUNICATION Aviva Obst INSTALLATION & TECHNICAL TEAM ArtAV, Spazio Luce, WeExhibit WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT RGB Studio
Film Credits:
PRODUCTION Foi Bonita a Festa DIRECTOR Pedro Neves Marques CAST Zahy Guajajara, Joana Manuel, Puta da Silva, Jules*Elting, João Abreu EXTRAS Dennis Correia, João Porto SCRIPT SUPERVISOR Tomás Paula Marques CASTING DIRECTORS Pedro Neves Marques, Catarina de Sousa EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/PRODUCTION MANAGER Catarina de Sousa PRODUCTION DIRECTOR/SCOUTING Raquel da Silva DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Marta Simões 1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA Ana Ramos, Soraia Rego 2ND ASSISTANT CAMERA Helena Marina, João Porto, Mariana Santana SET PHOTOGRAPHER José Pedro Cortes GAFFER Paulo Xein, Inês Alegre BEST BOY ELECTRIC Daniel Nicolau, Ricardo Giglio, Luís Magina SOUND DIRECTOR Pedro Balazeiro/ FFFlecha BOOM OPERATOR Jérémy Pouivet MUSIC HAUT (with Adam Sinclaire, Flute, and Marie Gailey, Mezzo-soprano) ART DIRECTION Artur Pinheiro ART ASSISTANT Ivo Fartura PROPS Susana Paixão, Maria Guiomar DECOR CONSTRUCTION JSVC2 Decor, Lda COSTUME DESIGNER Inês Simões WARDROBE/CHOREOGRAPHY Alice dos Reis HAIR & MAKE-UP Pedro Ferreira SEAMSTRESS Carmo Boucinha POST-PRODUCTION STUDIO Walla Collective COLORIST Andreia Bertini SOUND DESIGNER AND MIXER Tiago Matos, António Pires VISUAL EFFECTS Pedro Prata FILM STUDIO Grupo Nova Imagem FILM EQUIPMENT Planar Gestão Equipamentos Cinematográficos LDA, Showreel Audiovisuais ACCOUNTANT ACR Contabilidade e Consultoria, Amadeu Dores FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Line Alves
2022. Three-channel film installation, 75' loop, video, surround sound; series of five poems on paper; architecture modules.
Portugal Pavillion - Palazzo Franchetti | Portuguese Official Representation at the 59th La Biennale de Venezia 2022.
"In space, it’s always night."
Vampires in Space, by Pedro Neves Marques, Official Portuguese Representation at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, curated by João Mourão and Luís Silva, is a narrative installation comprising a three-channel film, confessional poetry, and an immersive exhibition design conceived in collaboration with Diogo Passarinho Studio that transformed the Gothic architecture of Palazzo Franchetti into an unexpected spaceship within which the wistful existence, dramas, and routines of five vampire passengers unfold during a centuries-long journey to a faraway planet. The immersive scenography contrasts the Gothic Venetian style of the palace with a sci-fi and speculative sensibility, typical of the artist’s’ ongoing practice.
The straightforwardness of the title is intentional and allows the narrative to unfold unburden by world building. In a way, the title says it all. Together, the film and poetry offers a glimpse into the life of five vampires as they travel through space, carrying life to a faraway Earth-like planet. After all, in space it is always night and, having eternity at their disposal, vampires are the ideal candidates to roam the stars. In their solitude, away from societal constraints and expectations, this family of vampires recalls and reimagines their past lives, guiding the visitor through an open-ended narrative about the role of fiction in our lives, and in particular in lives marked by gender dysphoria or transgender experiences.
Vampires in Space presents itself as a tale with no beginning nor end, in which what matters is the journey and not the destination. Emma, the youngest vampire on board, is afflicted by amnesia, only remembering their past lovers’ scents and touch, never their names or faces, and finds solace in the comic books of her youth. Selena is a person of many lives, whose only wish is for this family to simply hold on a little longer. Itá, once been the commander of the mission, can now barely find the strength to leave her bed, while Alex is about to discover the true meaning of vampirism. Lorna, a cis woman who wished to live forever and for that reason was turned a vampire just before the mission launched, is now in charge of the mission.
Pedro Neves Marques resorts to the figure and expectations of what we consider to be a “vampire” to address issues of gender identity, non-nuclear families, queer reproduction, the role of intimacy and mental health today, and even our contemporary commercial cinema imaginary. The vampire’s imagined longevity, reinforced here by the physical distance from planet Earth and the notion of humanity, allows for a retrospective exercise that could be called “scientific autofiction”, anchored in Neves Marques’s own personal gender experience, as well as a political review of an extensive history of control over bodies and desire. If vampires have always reflected period debates on gender, from the Victorian era to feminist liberation and the AIDS crisis, how do they answer today to advances in biotechnology or the emancipation of queer lives and ecologies?
Vampires in Space is, as all of Neves Marques’s work, built on an equilibrium between forthright socio-political critique, an uncommon storytelling speculation, and the creative and emotional place of personal exposure, invoking a space of intellectual and poetic freedom for art.
- From the press release by João Mourão and Luís Silva, curators.
Pavillion Credits:
ARTIST: Pedro Neves Marques CURATORS João Mourão & Luís Silva ORGANIZATION: MINISTÉRIO DA CULTURA DE PORTUGAL Pedro Adão e Silva COMMISSIONER: DIREÇÃO-GERAL DAS ARTES Américo Rodrigues EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION & COMMUNICATION Catarina Correia, Joana Branco, Maria Messias, Sofia Isidoro PUBLIC PROGRAM CURATOR Filipa Ramos PUBLIC PROGRAM ASSISTANT CURATOR Diogo Pinto EXHIBITION DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE Diogo Passarinho Studio SOUND DESIGN HAUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT/PRODUCTION Nataša Venturi PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Maria Elena Fantoni EDITORIAL COORDINATION Renata Catambas GRAPHIC DESIGN & VISUAL IDENTITY Remco Van Bladel Studio PRESS & COMMUNICATION Aviva Obst INSTALLATION & TECHNICAL TEAM ArtAV, Spazio Luce, WeExhibit WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT RGB Studio
Film Credits:
PRODUCTION Foi Bonita a Festa DIRECTOR Pedro Neves Marques CAST Zahy Guajajara, Joana Manuel, Puta da Silva, Jules*Elting, João Abreu EXTRAS Dennis Correia, João Porto SCRIPT SUPERVISOR Tomás Paula Marques CASTING DIRECTORS Pedro Neves Marques, Catarina de Sousa EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/PRODUCTION MANAGER Catarina de Sousa PRODUCTION DIRECTOR/SCOUTING Raquel da Silva DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Marta Simões 1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA Ana Ramos, Soraia Rego 2ND ASSISTANT CAMERA Helena Marina, João Porto, Mariana Santana SET PHOTOGRAPHER José Pedro Cortes GAFFER Paulo Xein, Inês Alegre BEST BOY ELECTRIC Daniel Nicolau, Ricardo Giglio, Luís Magina SOUND DIRECTOR Pedro Balazeiro/ FFFlecha BOOM OPERATOR Jérémy Pouivet MUSIC HAUT (with Adam Sinclaire, Flute, and Marie Gailey, Mezzo-soprano) ART DIRECTION Artur Pinheiro ART ASSISTANT Ivo Fartura PROPS Susana Paixão, Maria Guiomar DECOR CONSTRUCTION JSVC2 Decor, Lda COSTUME DESIGNER Inês Simões WARDROBE/CHOREOGRAPHY Alice dos Reis HAIR & MAKE-UP Pedro Ferreira SEAMSTRESS Carmo Boucinha POST-PRODUCTION STUDIO Walla Collective COLORIST Andreia Bertini SOUND DESIGNER AND MIXER Tiago Matos, António Pires VISUAL EFFECTS Pedro Prata FILM STUDIO Grupo Nova Imagem FILM EQUIPMENT Planar Gestão Equipamentos Cinematográficos LDA, Showreel Audiovisuais ACCOUNTANT ACR Contabilidade e Consultoria, Amadeu Dores FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Line Alves