The image of fire raining down from the heavens is universally understood as a harbinger of Earth’s apocalyptic demise. So when the Malta Pavillion drip-fed 400 pounds of incandescent molten steel per day from the ceiling of an industrial complex for the 59th Venice Biennale, that fearsome End-Times dread was almost visceral.
The site-specific installation, titled Diplomazija astuta (Cunning Diplomacy), is a reimagining of Caravaggio’s Baroque masterpiece “The Beheading of St John the Baptist.” Completed in 1608, the seminal altarpiece still hangs in the same cathedral in Malta for which it was commissioned. The melting metal—viscose, like the congealed blood of a martyr, creates streams of light that break through the darkness of the room, evoking the chiaroscuro effect synonymous with Caravaggio’s style… continue reading: https://www.nowness.com/story/diplomazija-astuta-malta-venice
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