Senior Lecturer’s work showcased at Venice Architecture Biennale 2018

• Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Dr Mark Riley has been invited to showcase his art work in Italy at the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale 2018.

Todtnauberg diorama detail (image: Dr Mark Riley)

Three handcrafted, 3D models created by Dr Riley that depict the secluded thinking and writing spaces of some of the world's greatest philosophers, Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, are on display in Venice. The dioramas are part of the ‘Machines à Penser’ exhibition, curated by internationally renowned Dieter Roelstraete who is a Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and investigate the need for intellectual isolation. To accompany this exhibition, Dr Riley is writing an essay for a book entitled: ‘Thinking Place: Heidegger at Todtnauberg and Wittgenstein at Skjolden’.

Starting 24 May, Venice Biennale of Architecture addresses the academic side of architecture and provides an opportunity for architects and designers to showcase new projects, arranged in different pavilions, each with different themes.

The ‘Machines à Penser’ exhibition, is part of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018, which is expected to attract over 250,000 visitors. The exhibition previews on Thursday 24 May and will be open to the general public between 26 May and 25 November 2018 at the Venetian venue of Fondazione Prada, Ca' Corner della Regina.

For over 120 years The Venice Biennale has been one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. The history of the La Biennale di Venezia dates back from 1895, when the first International Art Exhibition was organized. In the 1930s new festivals were born: Music, Cinema, and Theatre and in 1980 the first International Architecture Exhibition took place.

Dr Riley is a senior lecturer in Photography and has research interests in Continental Philosophy, particularly Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Derrida and Deleuze. Deleuze.