The title of the central exhibition, The Milk of Dreams, is drawn from a children’s book by Surrealist Leonora Carrington. The Biennale is inspired by Carrington’s groundbreaking exploration of identity, technology and ecology. Director Cecilia Alemani has stated that the exhibition explores the themes of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; and the connection between bodies and the Earth. For me, this really shows just how ahead of her time Carrington was, as these ideas are so pertinent today. With this in mind, it is perhaps a shame to see Carrington’s work tucked in a corner, but I was delighted to see some of her paintings and illustrations nonetheless!

Carrington is an inspiration to so many of us, and she really is a personal heroine to me because of her groundbreaking radical eco-feminism (worth reading the post-apocalyptic feminist utopia she describes in The Hearing Trumpet!)

I think anyone who sees her work will be inspired by the magic of imagination to envision a different world.

The Ghanian Pavilion was one of my favourites. The artist Afroscope responded beautifully to Carrington, dreams, and the complex relationship between people and machines. Afroscope creates multiple fluid doodle drawings which represent àṣẹ - the Yoruba philosophical concept of a vital life force or power that connects all of us as one. He then uses an algorithm to interpret the drawing, and teach an AI machine to embody his sprit and create new works. Here is a short video of the artist explaining his practice, it was such a pleasure to meet him and learn more about this incredible work!

The inaugural Ghana pavilion in 2019 received widespread critical acclaim, and this year’s follow up did not disappoint! Black Star: the Museum as Freedom was curated by Nana Oforiatta and also features artists Na Chainkua Reindorf and Diego Araúja. Their works respond to the iconic black star of the Ghanian flag and continue the exploration of freedom established in the first pavilion. The star is a symbol for the connection between Africa and its diaspora, pan-Africanism and anti-colonialism. The bamboo structure which houses the exhibit in the Arsenale has been replicated across Venice and in Ghana.

Completed in 2002, Paula Rego’s works depict episodes from the life of the Virgin Mary – subjects familiar in Christian art radically retold by the artist. This is a theme I’ve been very interested in myself, and have created my own re-imaginings of angels and the divine that challenge the connection between whiteness and holiness.

Sculptor Simone Leigh explores the burden of colonial histories and the promise of Black feminism for the US pavilion. Leigh has transformed the neo-Palladian pavilion with a thatched roof and wooden supports as a critical reference to the presentation of Africa at colonial expositions and fairs.

References to the artistic traditions of Africa are seen throughout Leigh’s works, such as her life-sized sculptures are carved in ceramic and raffia and cast in bronze. Her work Jug(2022) stayed with me; a reimagining of a South Carolina face jug from 1882 in which the caricatural features have been replaced with large cowrie shells. Cowrie shells have such powerful significance, which I discussed with Njok Malik Jeng and Kadija George Sesay for a special event at the British Library celebrating the work of my late friend Khadija Saye.

But… I think my personal favourite was the powerful portrayal of a woman’s body in Cupboard (2022). I was so taken by the weight of the gold (both literal and symbolic) that somehow retains an ethereal lightness where the work seems to be almost floating.

In this new body of work, Wiley highlights the brutality of the colonial, American and global past, using the figurative language of the fallen hero. The exhibition will include a series of unpublished monumental paintings and sculptures, expanding his 2008 body of DOWN work. Initially inspired by Holbein's painting The Dead Christ in the Tomb, as well as historical paintings and sculptures of fallen warriors and figures in the resting state, Wiley created a haunting series of prone black bodies, reconceptualizing classical pictorial forms to create a contemporary take on portraiture. monumental, which resounds with violence, pain and death, as well as ecstasy. For this new body of work, Wiley has expanded on these core thematic elements to ponder the deaths of young blacks killed around the world.

The exhibition includes a pop-up shop of merchandise to support Black Rock, Wiley’s artist-in-residence program in Senegal. It’s packed full of beautifully ornate textiles!

Groundbreaking artist Sonia Boyce was the first black woman to be added to the Tate collection in 1987, and the Royal Academy in 2016, she is now the first Black woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale. Boyce’s exhibition is a multi-media installation comprising video, sound, wallpaper and sculptural objects, that explores her childhood yearning for a sense of belonging. It was an incredible privilege to witness Boyce’s speech at the opening, it was such an emotional and important moment!