In the Venice Biennale, Actress Zoe Saldana Pops Up in a Prison
The Avatar star headlines a film shot by her husband as part of the Vatican’s contribution to the international art bonanza.
Claire Tabouret’s portraits of inmates and their family members as young children.
Photographer: Marco Cremamascoli
Even before the actress Zoe Saldana appeared in a prison courtyard, the Holy See Pavilion was the hottest ticket of the Venice Biennale. Set on the island of Giudecca and located in the Giudecca Women’s Detention Home, the Vatican’s contribution to the world’s biggest art event features eight separate artists who worked, often with the input of inmates, in mediums including painting, dance and performance.
The point of the exhibition setting is to “challenge the desire for voyeurism and judgment toward artists and prisoners themselves, eroding the boundaries between observer and observed, judging and judged, to also reflect on power structures in art and institutions,” according to a Vatican press release.