Homeunbound takes on Venice

During my university years, Venice was my home away from home.

The city of water and canals, for centuries a source of inspiration for poets, writers and artists, continues today to be a crossroads of different cultures. And in the same way it embraced me, over 30 years ago, it continues to welcome, nurture, stimulate, influence and transform people and art.

STRANIERI OVUNQUE - FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE is the title of this year's International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, which I had the pleasure of visiting last week, just before its closure at the end of November.

A few lines from the curator's introduction, Adriano Pedrosa:
"The backdrop for the work is a world rife with multifarious crises concerning the movement and existence of people across countries, nations, territories and borders, which reflect the perils and pitfalls of language, translation, nationality, expressing differences and disparities conditioned by identity, nationality, race, gender, sexuality, freedom, and wealth. In this panorama, the expression Foreigners Everywhere has several meanings. First of all, wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners—they/we are everywhere. Secondly, no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner"

Given this premise, the connection with the topical themes of Homeunbound, was immediate and inescapable. How being a 'foreigner' affects your sense of self and belonging, how the 'otherness' shapes the way you are received and perceived, and your ability to create a home beyond boundaries, are all mechanisms that I am daring to explore through my research and writing, and with the help of artists like the photographer Annabel Jeuring, who illustrated the stories of my book, and the ongoing collaboration with pianist Sofia Vasheruk, whose musical storytelling superbly intertwines with the words and sentiments of my protagonists.