Mataaho Collective and Archie Moore Win Golden Lions

The prizes for the best presentations at the 60th Venice Biennale went to indigenous artists from the other side of the world—New Zealand and Australia.

The Venice Biennale's jury named the winners of this year's best presentations on Saturday.

Aotearoa New Zealand's Mataaho Collective received the award for Best Participant in the International Exhibition, with special mentions going to Samia Halaby and La Chola Poblete.

The jury described Mataaho's structure of woven high-visibility straps as 'a feat of engineering that was only made possible by the collective strength and creativity of the group.'

Mataaho told Ocula they were invited to attend the award ceremony but weren't told ahead of time that they'd won. 'It wasn't until there were only two Golden Lion statues sitting on the table that it really hit home,' they said.

They noted that Māori art and artists have been a prominent part of the New Zealand contemporary art community for many years.

'New Zealand has had a good representation of Māori artists at the Venice Biennale over the years. We were honoured to be included in the curated exhibition alongside the contingent of Māori artists, and to be part of this moment where toi Māori [Māori art] is recognised through this award is incredible. We stand on the shoulders of Māori art giants, this award is also recognition of our mentors, our teachers, and our ancestors.'

New Zealand didn't have a pavilion at Venice this year but Mataaho Collective haven't ruled out showing in a national pavilion in the future—and they're willing to wait for the opportunity.

'When we were fresh out of art school, we imagined what it would be like to exhibit at the New Zealand Pavilion in Venice. We decided that we'd wait until we were in our 80s, so we could have a team that we could direct at install,' they said.

'We've seen the immense amount of work that each New Zealand Pavilion has poured into their exhibitions, and it's important that there continue to be pathways and support from our government for artists to take part in the Venice Biennale, and other international art conversations and platforms.'

The Golden Lion for Best National Participation went to Australia for Archie Moore's exhibition kith and kin, which was curated by Ellie Buttrose.

'In this quietly powerful pavilion, Archie Moore worked for months to hand-draw with chalk a monumental First Nations family tree,' the jury said.

'Thus 65,000 years of history (both recorded and lost) are inscribed on the dark walls as well as on the ceiling, asking viewers to fill in blanks and take in the inherent fragility of this mournful archive. Floating in a moat of water are redacted official State records, reflecting Moore's intense research as well as the high rates of incarceration of First Nations' people.'

'This installation stands out for its strong aesthetic, its lyricism, and its invocation of shared loss for occluded pasts,' the jury offered. 'With his inventory of thousands of names, Moore also offers a glimmer of possibility for recuperation.'

Collecting the award, Moore said, 'As the water flows through the canals of Venice to the lagoon, then to the Adriatic Sea, it then travels to the oceans and to the rest of the world—enveloping the continent of Australia—connecting us all here on Earth. Aboriginal kinship systems include all living things from the environment in a larger network of relatedness, the land itself can be a mentor or a parent to a child. We are all one and share a responsibility of care to all living things now and into the future.'

A special mention went to the Republic of Kosovo for Doruntina Kastrati's The Echoing Silences of Metal and Skin, curated by Erëmirë Krasniqi.

Her installation references walnut shells used in factory-made Turkish delight and medical parts used to replace workers' knees to communicate the toll industrial labour takes on women's bodies. —[O]