Catching up with the world of western contemporary art can often be an adventure fraught with disappointment for me – especially having become accustomed to the simple pleasures that nature and minimalism have to offer in the jungle. It was, however, a pleasant surprise to find so many fascinating, beautifully executed works in this years Venice Biennale – from Christian Marklay’s ‘The Clock’ – a beautifully edited video of scenes from movies that show the time, even better the whole work is 24hours long and in sync with the actual time the audience is watching the film (I could happily have watched the whole 24hours given the chance) , then there was a stunning massive wax candle in the form of a classical marble sculpture. The candle had been lit (and probably re-lit) for some days and so was a great time to view last week when most of the detail was still left from the sculpt but the piece was noticeably made from wax by the amount that had burnt.

On the other side of things there was of course the American pavillion – with works predictably around the themes of money (an ATM organ), airtravel (a group of battered first-class airline seats) and tanning (a sunbed with a statue inside)

And where would a major art festival be without a dash of cynicism… this one in the form of some graff on one of the little bridges near the grand canal (slideshow)

link here