The representation of bodies and their metamorphoses, the relationship between individuals and technologies, the bonds intertwined between bodies and the Earth: this is the thematic triad at the center of the 59. International Art Exhibition, directed by Cecilia Alemani, which will take place from 23th April to 27th November 2022 at the Giardini, the Arsenale and in various places of Venice.

The title is The Milk of Dreams, inspired by the homonymous book by the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, written during her stay in Mexico in the 50’s. "Carrington’s stories imagine a free world full of infinite possibilities, but also the allegory of a century that imposes an intolerable pressure on identity, forcing it to live as an exiled, locked up in psychiatric hospitals, perennial object of fascination and desire but also a figure of rare strength and mystery, always fleeing from the constraints of a fixed and coherent identity", explained Cecilia Alemani, former curator of the exhibition Le muse inquiete in 2020, an unprecedent account of the Biennale’s 125 years history.

And added: "the exhibition stems from the many conversations with many artists and artists in recent months. How is the definition of human changing? How is life defined and what are the differences that separate the animal, the vegetable, the human and the non-human? What are our responsibilities towards our fellow human beings, other life forms and the planet we inhabit? And what would life be like without us?".

Opening Image: Leonora Carrington, Self-portrait. 1937