Oceanic Refractions at the Venice Biennale

To propose solutions to the crises we face, we must begin by listening. But how do we listen beyond words? How can we attune to the unspoken—the silences that hold meaning, the ocean that speaks in rhythms and reverberations? Oceanic Refractions invites immersion in the landscapes and seascapes of Oceania, shifting listening from an extractive act to a reciprocal practice, encouraging solidarity and interdependent ways of being with the world.

Installation as interruption
In the Corderie—a building erected in 1303 to make mooring ropes for ships—a custom textile curtain falls like water from the palladium ceiling. Together with a curved screen, it invites fifteen minutes of quiet, restful contemplation. Acting as a visual and acoustic container, the installation interrupts the Arsenale’s dense geography. Hyper-detailed videography of Oceania’s watery worlds plays while a brackish scent envelops the audience. Responsive seating encourages visitors to submerge themselves in soundscapes from Fiji’s reefs, Kiribati’s mangroves, and Papua New Guinea’s shorelines, interwoven with voices of Oceanian teachers, artists, fisherpeople, and Elders.

A counterpoint to spectacle
Amidst the sprawling techno-spectacle of the 2025 Venice Biennale, Oceanic Refractions emerges as a counterpoint of depth. This historic milestone, marking the first invitation of Indigenous, Fijian-based artists in the Biennale, was opened on May 8 with a kava ceremony during which visitors witnessed a Pacific ritual of blessing, respect, and connection.

Curated by Elise Misao Hunchuck and designed with Milan-based Studio Folder, the installation transforms a six-meter diameter circle within the Arsenale Corderie into a space where epistemology becomes a liquid archive. Blending tradition and technology, the striking wave of navy blue breaks the rooms’ horizontal totality. The column cradles the heart of the installation, offering insights for navigating contemporary conditions of ecological and social-political collapse. In the space between testimony and digital possibilities, these stories dignify Indigenous Pacific sovereignty, resisting global erasure and weaving a Pacific futurism where technology serves communities rather than surveilling or exploiting them. Oceanic Refractions demands we stop, unlearn assumptions, and reconfigure futures anchored in intergenerational ecosystemic intelligences. 

Collaborative vision
Oceanic Refractions merges artistic visions across continents, anchored by the long-standing collaboration between co-founders Mere Nailatikau and AM Kanngieser. The installation integrates multiple sensory layers and features details honoring Pacific philosophies of space and time: Māori artist Nathan Taare created an olfactory landscape evoking hidden ocean scents, while circular seating was developed with Bang & Olufsen. OLDER Studio designed both the flowing textile sea and the uniforms that tie the tidal ambiance together.

Foundationally, the infrastructure serves as a platform to amplify the voices of Pacific-based experts (sometimes called knowledge-holders): Lydia Jacob and Philip Tacom from Papua New Guinea’s Duke of York Islands, Unaisi Nabobo-Baba and Simione Sevudredre from Fiji, and Teweiariki Teaero from Kiribati. Their voices resonate through the sophisticated immersive soundscapes composed by KMRU and Kanngieser, crafted from Kanngieser’s unique onsite field recordings and interviews. The visual elements, directed by Nailatikau and filmed by Laisiasa Dave Lavaki and Tumeli Tuqota, complete this comprehensive sensory panorama.

Ethical listening
Indigenous Pacific definitions of listening go beyond auditory hearing. The testimonies of Elders offer guidance on listening with care and prioritizing the interconnections of people, land, and ocean. Across the Pacific region, listening is profoundly relational. As the late Teaero explained, in Kiribati, the word for “land” and “people” is the same—te aba—reinforcing that listening to Elders means listening to the land’s wisdom.

Living legacy
Outside of the Biennale, Oceanic Refractions is an ongoing project. The team focuses on conveying testimonies to non-Pacific audiences while returning the knowledge held in them to the regions they emerge from. This ethic of reciprocity extends to an evolving online archive of texts, images, and sounds engineered for islands with limited internet infrastructure. Reflecting a commitment to custodianship, the artists have established a charitable trust to channel proceeds from the artistic presentation toward supporting experimental Pacific-based artists who are systemically overlooked by already limited public arts funding. In all of its forms, Oceanic Refractions embodies cross-cultural collaboration by grounding knowledge and honoring creative, evidence-based approaches.

For press inquiries and further information: oceanicrefractions@gmail.com.

Oceanic Refractions (2025). Film [15 minutes], scent, kinetic seating, curtain. AM Kanngieser, Mere Nailatikau, Laisiasa Dave Lavaki, Tumeli Tuqota, Joseph Kamaru, and Elise Misao Hunchuck with Studio Folder, OLDER Studio, and Nathan Taare.

All photographs in this announcement are by Salem Mostefaoui.