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At the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, art becomes an immersive, symbolic and deeply contemporary experience. At the National Pavilion of Sierra Leone, from May 9 to November 22, 2026, artist Jacopo Di Cera presents Ciclica, an impressive multimedia installation that transforms climate change into a powerful visual and sensory narrative.
An artwork breathing between technology and nature
Ciclica unfolds across 36 upcycled screens, arranged in a tripartite structure that recalls the fundamental cycles of existence: birth, life and death. At the center, the mythological figure of Gaia, performed by Lidia Carew, emerges in a dance suspended between light and shadow, harmony and fracture.
The use of reclaimed technological devices is not merely aesthetic, but deeply conceptual: the medium becomes the message. The screens themselves tell a story of obsolescence and rebirth, reflecting the contradictions of our time and the need to rethink the relationship between humans, technology and the environment.
A visual narrative between myth and environmental crisis
The work stands out for its strong symbolic dimension and the use of a top-down perspective, a distinctive feature of Di Cera’s practice. From above, the gaze becomes both analytical and poetic, transforming data and climate-related phenomena into powerful, almost ritual images.
Throughout the performance, Gaia’s dance is progressively disrupted by “visual glitches”: interferences representing the impact of human activity on natural balances. The result is a constant tension between order and chaos, continuity and rupture.
As curator Rebecca Pedrazzi notes, Ciclica constructs a true “visual cosmogony,” in which environmental collapse is no longer a distant event, but an ongoing process that directly involves us.
A message of awareness (and hope)
Despite its critical force, Ciclica does not stop at denunciation. Its cyclical structure suggests the possibility of regeneration: every end contains a new beginning. It is precisely within this balance between dissolution and rebirth that the work opens up to a future perspective, inviting viewers to engage in active reflection.
A dialogue with the global present
Presented within the National Pavilion of Sierra Leone, Ciclica engages with the curatorial vision of Sandro Orlandi Stagle and Willy Montini as part of Mondi Presenti / Worlds of Today. More than a simple exhibition, the Pavilion is conceived as a dynamic space of research and exchange.
In line with the theme of the 61st Venice Biennale, In Minor Keys, the project encourages an exercise in listening and decentering, privileging subtle narratives, vital processes and forms of resilience beyond dominant discourses.
The exhibition unfolds as a constellation of practices intertwining local dimensions and international perspectives, creating a true “visual assembly” in which different identities are shaped through contact and relation. At its core lies an idea of art as an ethical and transformative act, capable of imagining new possibilities of coexistence, environmental justice and shared humanism.
With Ciclica, Jacopo Di Cera confirms the strength of an artistic practice that merges photography, installation, performance and digital languages. His work invites us to observe reality from a new perspective, transforming complex issues into evocative and accessible images.
