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The gondola, a timeless and iconic symbol of Venice and love, embarks on a new journey at the Venice Biennale Arte 2024 (https://www.labiennale.org/it/arte/2024 ) in the Pavilion of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The Aerospace Gondola project is a collaborative video artwork by artist Marco Nereo Rotelli, MIT SEI’s Space Architect Valentina Sumini, Visual Designer Pietro Grandi, 3D designer Antonio Alfano, geophysicist Paolo Dell’Aversana, and poet Gemma Bracco.
Strategically placed at the water gate of the exhibition space at San Stae facing Canal Grande, this site-specific video piece symbolizes a vision and transition between land and water, encapsulating the core theme of the artwork. Rotelli transforms the water gate into a non-place, a threshold to the visible cosmic infinite, through a golden window. Through this window, viewers witness the poetic journey of a gondola flying from Venice to Bangladesh and passing by the Moon, serving as a metaphorical portal that bridges terrestrial and celestial realms.
The project stands on a foundation of art, science, and space architecture, using poetry to weave a communicative thread between diverse dimensions: earth and space, finite and infinite, interior and exterior, contemporary and historical, and future realms. Rotelli’s work often centers on the gondola as a powerful poetic metaphor, a theme he has explored in various prestigious exhibitions. From "Fluendo verso", exhibited at the Rome Quadriennale (1996), to "Clean Water, please", showcased at the Museum of the Military Navy of Venice, Milan Design Week, and the Biennale of Sustainability in Genoa (2022), Rotelli has consistently deepened his engagement with the gondola's symbolic and poetic potential. His collaboration with the Volunteer Diver Gondoliers of Venice further solidifies this union of intent.
The Aerospace Gondola, digitally designed with the expertise of Valentina Sumini, leverages artificial intelligence and computational design to reimagine the Venetian gondola as a fantastical space vehicle. This innovative project blends traditional symbolism with cutting-edge technology, reimagining space travel through a shield of golden stars and water. It aims to recreate the overview effect, reconnecting humanity to our planet Earth by exploring the lunar surface and applying this acquired knowledge upon returning to Bangladesh. This immersive experience merges all levels of our experiential and non-experiential world. Poetry becomes a universal medium that not only unites hearts and minds but also bridges diverse realms. Through this transformative journey, viewers are invited to reflect on the interconnectedness of our world and the limitless possibilities of human creativity and exploration.