POETICS OF AN ARCHIVE: Franco-German Pavilion at the first Malta Biennale

The first maltabiennale.art will host a pavilion entitled ‘POETICS OF AN ARCHIVE’ conceived and produced by the embassies of France and Germany in Malta.

Curated by Andrew Borg Wirth (Malta), the pavilion uses only found objects from extended research in Malta by visual and performing artist Mariana Hahn (Paris/Berlin), including parallel performances by choreographer and dancer Simon Riccardi-Zani (Malta/Paris).

The pavilion initiates a dialogue with the sea, exploring organic processes motivated by human activity and is fascinated by layers of material and cultural transformation. Hahn borrows from the natural processes of patina, sediment, algae, mould and rust to investigate the sea as an archive. The pavilion at Malta’s Fort St Elmo in Valletta seeks to use art as a mediator for larger conversations on the ocean. It symbolically bridges the gap between three nations to encompass the potential that the sea has to connect us. The project is supported by the French and German Embassies in Malta.

maltabiennale.art is organised by Heritage Malta through MUŻA, the Malta National Community Art Museum, in partnership with Arts Council Malta, under the patronage of His Excellency the President of Malta and UNESCO and will be organised between 11th March and 31st May 2024.

Mariana Hahn (Paris/Berlin) investigates archives and archival processes, the memory of her body and her own genealogy, and their transfer to other media, be it paper, copper or other organic and mineral materials. Her work has been exhibited and performed in Paris, Arles, New York, London, Istanbul, Berlin, Frankfurt, Venice, Rome, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Fujian, Shenzhen, Moscow, Kharkiv and Belgrade. Since her first visit to Malta in 2019, Hahn has investigated and explored the beautiful confrontation between land and sea which surrounds the island.

Simon Riccardi-Zani (Malta/Paris) trained at the Opera Ballet School of Paris, the Paris National Conservatoire (CNSMDP) and has been part of the company at ŻfinMalta since 2019.

Andrew Borg Wirth (Malta) is a curator and architect with an interdisciplinary practice interrogating political themes through collaborative projects with artists, collectives, architects and organisations.

More details on a public programme around the pavilion will follow soon. The team is working in close collaboration with the International Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS, Francoise Gaill) within the organizing committee of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC, France, Ashok Adicéam, Head of Global affairs), to be hosted by France and Costa Rica in Nice in June 2025.