Measure of the Sea: Hit or Miss
By Amanda-Jane Reynolds
@iamajreynolds
Pavilion of BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA ‘The Measure of the Sea’, 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by: _AVZ: Andrea Avezzù, _JS: Jacopo Salvi, _MZO: Marco Zorzanello, _MDM: Matteo de Mayda. Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia
Walking through Venice feels like tracing a treasure map, where Xs are scattered across labyrinthine streets, guiding the art pirate to hidden gems. My journey began at Piazzale Roma, with the goal of reaching the Venice Biennale’s Arsenale and Giardini, home to most of the artistic National Pavilions. But a serendipitous discovery awaited me.
Tucked away in the Piazzale Zorzi courtyard, not far from the Arsenale, I stumbled upon the Bosnia and Herzegovina exhibit, ‘Measure of the Sea’. Stjepan Skoko, the sculptor behind two substantial pieces in this open-air square gallery, caught my eye—likely due to my strange attraction to grids, geometrics, and maps. Mapping can be humanity’s way of imposing order on the vast, untamed ocean. But for me, mapping is a personal tracing of past places and experiences. It’s the act of capturing one’s movements across space, pausing to breathe in the moment, letting it seep into the bloodstream like oxygen through the lungs. Every small effect is like a domino collapsing onto the next, mindful of the consequences and gains that ripple through.
Pavilion of BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA ‘The Measure of the Sea’, 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by: _AVZ: Andrea Avezzù, _JS: Jacopo Salvi, _MZO: Marco Zorzanello, _MDM: Matteo de Mayda. Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia
To map is to see.
I stood gazing at the sunlit portion of the installation, a five-by-five grid of blue block cubes. Each cube was smooth and shiny, yet the surfaces facing the sky and ground were rugged and wild. The light touched these frozen waves like the eyes of someone studying a still map. The ocean-like sculptures held a Schrödinger-feeling energy—both moving and unmoving, trapped in a grid of longitude and latitude. Though the blocks appeared motionless, their textured surfaces hinted at kinetic energy, glistening like foam.
Pavilion of BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA ‘The Measure of the Sea’, 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by: _AVZ: Andrea Avezzù, _JS: Jacopo Salvi, _MZO: Marco Zorzanello, _MDM: Matteo de Mayda. Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia
The cubes, while similar, weren’t identical. Their crowns varied, imitating the sea’s waves. Three of the twenty-five cubes stood out enough for me to mention. To describe their placement, I’ll validate Skoko’s point through the ironic use of coordinates. Let’s treat it like a Battleship grid, with latitude labelled A to E, and longitude 1 to 5. The top-left corner is A,5. At B,4, a chalk-white cube breaks the pattern of blue. D,4 also stands out to me—a bronze-coloured block taller than most of its neighbours. It feels like a real-life game of Battleship.
The white peg—representing a miss—and the red peg—marking a dreaded or celebrated hit. C,4 towers above the bronze cube, as though the hit radiated energy across the surrounding seascape, affecting nearby grids C,5 and D,5.
It’s a curious reflection: a fun family game like Battleship, one I still play now and then, which mirrors real-life fatal conflicts—from the Enigma era of cryptography to present-day land wars. The overarching Biennale theme, ‘Foreigners Everywhere’, feels almost like a theme park—except it’s not mice and ducks crossing your path, but people. Every move has the potential for impact (a hit), while the misses are less noticeable. It’s a relevant topic these days, with ongoing wars in Ukraine and Palestine, as well as recent terrorist attacks in the UK, where libraries parallel to primary schools have been burned down and hotels hosting refugees have been targeted. If the world were a giant Battleship game, it would be riddled with red pegs.
Pavilion of BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA ‘The Measure of the Sea’, 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by: _AVZ: Andrea Avezzù, _JS: Jacopo Salvi, _MZO: Marco Zorzanello, _MDM: Matteo de Mayda. Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia
Skoko’s work encourages me to reflect. It reminds me of those who can’t come to Venice, who can’t stand in front of art and contemplate nautical strategy games. I look at the other works in the exhibit, which mimic molluscs suspended in the air, vulnerable to predators from above. Meanwhile, limpets below cling tightly to their porous homes, leaving scars on the rock to mark where they once lived.
‘Measure of the Sea’ or ‘Mjera Mora’ was curated by Marina Ivanović and represented by the Museum of Modern Art of the University of Mosart. A true highlight of the 60th Venice Biennale, which is open to visitors until November 24th 2024.
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