The Eurovision of the Art World

Although I did do some daily blogs on dazed digital at the Venice Biennale, I still have to sum up the 5 insane days at the best party ever created in the world.

Art highlights:
Mexico Pavillion - Teresa Margolles, floors washed with the blood of murdered Mexicans. You only realise while standing on it.
Russian Pavillion - Amazing work from Pavel Pepperstein, Andrei Molodkin, and the awesome Gosha Ostretsov (pictured above).
French Pavillion - Claude Leveque's black flags flying behind jail bars. Simple but powerful
The haunting Ukrainian Pavillion (and the amazing traditional music at their opening)
Grazia Toderi's two screen film piece in the Arsenale, layers of car and urban lights at night
The Arsenale sculpture garden - brilliant space, and a lot of laughter at Miranda July's interactive photo pieces.
Mona Hatoum's solo show at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia (photographed below); Distortion for some guerilla YBAs; Bruce Nauman's footsteps sound piece; Rauschenberg's Gluts at the Peggy Guggenheim; the light up dancefloor at Palazzo Grassi. The list goes on...

The biennale was particularly fun because of Freire Barnes, Neil Hamon, Ossian Ward, Matthew Stone, Paul and Michela (and amaretti tiramisu), Johnny Yeo, The Lovely Daryoush and Jonjo, Amst and Walter, Aaron Moulton, Robert Diament, Christian Jankowski and the gorgeous Jorinde, Thierry Bal; Paul Artkrush, Yorgo Tloupas, Hannah Barry, Tom Horan, Michelangelo Bandandi, Xerxes Cook and Erica, Craig Burnett, Anita Z and all at 176, Nicola and the Nero boys, and Kris Latocha.