#FOCUSON site-specific installation at Palazzo Vendramin Grimani

Parul Thacker, The Book of the Time-Travellers of the Worlds: the One by Whom All Lives by None, 2023-2024. Site-specific installation with two-sided hand-stitched designs. Hand-embroidered palimpsests in cotton/polyester filaments with variable thread count on silk canvas.

Stereo sound installation, The Book of the Time-Travellers of the Worlds: a Fathomless Zero, 13‘:20’', 2024. Credits: Frank Horvat (composer, sound designer, field recordist), Mohi Bahauddin Dagar (rudra veena), Parul Thacker (creative inspiration, narrator). Tales from Savitri by Sri Aurobindo.

For the Collateral Event of Biennale Arte 2024 ‘Per non perdere il filo. Karine N'guyen Van Tham - Parul Thacker, Indian artist Parul Thacker (Mumbai, 1973) has been invited to create a site-specific installation in the ground floor spaces of Palazzo Vendramin Grimani.

Parul Thacker's installation The Book of the Time-Travellers of the Worlds: the One by Whom All Lives by None, (2023-2024) composed of 22 organza sheets hand-sewn on two sides is accompanied by a stereophonic sound composition, The Book of the Time-Travellers of the Worlds: a Fathomless Zero, created by Canadian composer Frank Horvat in collaboration with Mohi Bahauddin Dagar (rudra veena) and the artist herself (creative inspiration, narrator of the stories from Sri Aurobindo's Savitri).

This soundscape was inspired by the expedition Horvat and Thacker took part in north of the Arctic Circle, in the Svalbard archipelago, on board the ship Antigua (June 2023). Water plays an important role in the Arctic experience: it is everywhere, especially in summer and especially in times of climate crisis. Drawing on audio recordings made during the expedition, The Book of the Time-Travellers of the Worlds: a Fathomless Zero seamlessly weaves together the atmospheric sounds of the Arctic environment.

The installation invites us to reflect on the fragility of our planet's polar regions and their melting process, while the nearby Grand Canal allows us, with its murmur, to perceive the interconnectedness of these two different landscapes and of all life on Earth.

Frank Horvat

Frank Horvat (Ottawa, 1974), a multi-genre Canadian composer, has long been committed to promoting social justice through his music (BBC Music Magazine). Recognised as one of the most innovative songwriters on the contemporary Canadian scene (WholeNote Magazine), Frank explores a wide range of issues in his songs, ranging from love to the environment to mental health. For his audience, he creates times and spaces for reflection in a fast-paced world. Starting with very personal stories, Frank's compositions inspire audiences to reflect on their own. Premiered on four continents, his works have been included on over twenty albums produced by labels such as ATMA Classique, Azul Music, Leaf Music and Centrediscs, and have been performed internationally in theatres, feature films, installations and radio and television broadcasts on networks such as BBC Radio 3, Bravo, CBC, CBS, Discovery, HBO and Vice.

Mohi Bahauddin Dagar

Mohi Bahauddin Dagar (Mumbai, 1970) received his first sitar lessons from his mother, Smt Pramila Mohiuddin Dagar. At the age of sixteen, he began training under his father, the rudra veena master Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, also studying singing with his uncle Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar, a dhrupad singer. He continued his training with Pandit Pushpraj Koshti. Bahauddin Dagar is a leading artist of AIR and winner of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He currently resides in Dhrupad, a training space in residence where he trains students of rudra veena, singing and other instruments in the ancient tradition of gurushishya parampara.

Discover more