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The 16th Lyon Biennale: manifesto of fragility positions fragility at the heart of a generative form of resistance that is emboldened by the past, responsive to the present and primed for the future. In acknowledging fragility as one of few universally felt truths in our divided world, the Biennale assembles a host of creative practices and objects spanning two millennia that variously speak to the vulnerabilities of people and places, past and present, near and far. Conceived as a collective statement authored through word, image, sound and movement by 200 artists and creatives, it calls on a community of resilient voices to draft a manifesto for a world that is blamelessly fragile. The Biennale is structured around three distinct yet inter-connected layers, where fragility and resistance are explored through the lens of the individual, the city, and the world respectively.
Ann Agee
Medieval Madonna, 2021
earthenware with colored slips
26 x 10 7/8 x 8 5/8 ins.
66 x 27.6 x 21.9 cm
Ann Agee
Dots Madonna, 2021
glazed earthenware with colored slips
25 3/8 x 13 x 17 3/4 ins.
64.5 x 33 x 45 cm
Ann Agee
Cult of the Penis Madonna, 2021
pigmented porcelain with cotton thread, cast bronze and epoxy putty
33 1/4 x 12 x 9 3/4 ins.
84.5 x 30.5 x 24.8 cm
Erin M. Riley
Crimson Landslide 6, 2018
wool, cotton
35 x 48 ins.
88.9 x 121.9 cm
Erin M. Riley
I don't remember, 2022
wool, cotton
148 x 100 ins.
375.9 x 254 cm
Erin M. Riley
The Hidden Crisis, 2022
wool, cotton
96 x 292 3/4 ins.
243.8 x 743.6 cm
Ann Agee
Medieval Madonna, 2021
earthenware with colored slips
26 x 10 7/8 x 8 5/8 ins.
66 x 27.6 x 21.9 cm
Ann Agee
Dots Madonna, 2021
glazed earthenware with colored slips
25 3/8 x 13 x 17 3/4 ins.
64.5 x 33 x 45 cm
Ann Agee
Cult of the Penis Madonna, 2021
pigmented porcelain with cotton thread, cast bronze and epoxy putty
33 1/4 x 12 x 9 3/4 ins.
84.5 x 30.5 x 24.8 cm
Erin M. Riley
Crimson Landslide 6, 2018
wool, cotton
35 x 48 ins.
88.9 x 121.9 cm
Erin M. Riley
I don't remember, 2022
wool, cotton
148 x 100 ins.
375.9 x 254 cm
Erin M. Riley
The Hidden Crisis, 2022
wool, cotton
96 x 292 3/4 ins.
243.8 x 743.6 cm
They’re using the past to re-invent and question the future, carefully investigating the fragility of the latent dreams that mark our time.