Operation Venice by Jean-Pierre Aubé

Of particular note among the events scheduled for the opening of this year’s Venice Biennale (May 6–8) are the live interventions of Québec artist Jean-Pierre Aubé. Under the guidance of Galerie de l’UQAM and its director, Louise Déry, this project aims at highlighting the singularity of an artistic practice that, by tackling hot-button issues such as electromagnetic pollution and cyber-surveillance, deserves both national and international recognition. In addition to the presentation at Venice, Déry has organized a more substantial exhibition of Aubé’s work to be shown at RAM radioartemobile, a flagship institution for sound art based in Rome that has recently showcased major artists such as Jannis Kounellis, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Jan Fabre. This exhibition, beginning May 14, brings together several of Aubé’s most ambitious projects from the past fifteen years, including V.L.F. Natural Radio (2000–04) and the magnificent landscapes in the Electrosmogs series (2009–), to which two new works—Electrosmog Venezia and Radio Vaticano, created with material collected in Italy—have been added. The following text draws on excerpts from a discussion in which the artist and curator shared their thoughts regarding the execution of this dual project.

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