On 12 May 2017, at 5pm, in parallel to the inauguration of the 2017 Venice Biennale, the unauthorised project PADiGLiONE iN MOViMENTO was officially opened by a paid porter at Venice Santa Lucia Railway Station. Simultaneously, three painted trains entered the outer tracks of platforms 17 to 21, used for commuter trains of the Veneto Region. These works set the starting point for the first unofficial pavilion project realised during the Venice Biennale. Works by Alex from Spain, Fino from Germany, Slomo from Israel, Lyra & Lyro from Denmark, and Vandal from Poland appeared for a short time in the central point of Venice’s rail-based public transport system.
First impact
Months earlier, these artists commenced their unofficial participation in the 57th Venice Biennale. Slomo visited the train yards in the Veneto Region to study schedules of workers and trains. He analysed the train types running in this region. A schedule of yard bombing was set up. Official invitation cards and labels were designed with reference to the corporate identity of Italian train company Trenitalia. Invitation cards were sent to international curators and press representatives. Finally, the artists arrived in Venice to paint trains intensively in different yards in the Veneto Region.
From 8 to 12 May, the artist group visited the yards of Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza, and Rovigo to paint the commuter trains which arrived on the outer tracks of Venice’s Santa Lucia Station. Each painted piece was provided with a label placed next to it. The labels identified the pieces as official works of PADiGLiONE iN MOViMENTO. On each label the official logos of the Venice Biennale and Trenitala, the artists’ name and origin, the technique used, and the year of production were visible.
The pieces were executed with spray paint and facade paint on the trains of the regional metropolitan railway system. The type of train that received most paint jobs was the TAF (Ale 426/506) designed by Pininfarina, after the Stadler FLIRT (ETR 340).
Second round
After the opening of PADiGLiONE iN MOViMENTO, three more artists made their way to a yard in the Veneto region. Flux from Great Britain, Mr. Trainwash from the United States, and Joao Pocolo from Brazil painted a commuter train which arrived on October 15 in Venezia’s Santa Lucia Station. All artists used special techniques. Flux used oil sticks to draw on the train, Mr. Trainwash pasted prepared papers, and Joao Pocolo used found objects and his hand as a stencil on the train. All pieces were executed on TAF train number 94.
Closing of Pavilion
During the last week of the Biennale, from 26 to 28 November, another group of train painters arrived. NEXR from Denmark, Layer 1 from Switzerland, and Applpier from Ireland did a series of works on TAF trains running from Venice Santa Lucia Station to Vicenza and Rovigo. For their interventions, different techniques were used. Nexr and Applpier used spray paint on the train. Layer 1 realised two works with direct screen printing on the train’s surface. In a final collaborative work on an old model of Trenitalia a mix of posters, spray paint and screen printing were employed.
Figure 1. Detail of the collaboration between Slomo & Nexr on train type ALe642.
Figure 2. Collaboration between Slomo & Nexr using PiM posters, handouts of different Biennale pavilions, silkscreen printing, and spray paint on train type Ale642 as well as the platform of a train station.
Figure 3. PiM labelling posters used to advertise the opening of PiM, pasted illegally over official posters in the historic centre of Venice during the 57th Venice Biennale.
Figure 4. Work by Lyra & Lyro made with rolled facade paint and spray paint on train type FLIRT / ETR 340 seen at Venezia Santa Lucia Station.
Figure 5. Fino’s Metrosnail sprayed on train type FLIRT / ETR 340.
Figure 6. Inside out view of Fino’s Egyptmetro on train type TAF / ALe 426/506 seen at Venezia Santa Lucia station.
Figure 7. Two colored silk screen prints by Layer 1 on train type TAF / ALe 426/506.
Figure 8. Passengers at Venezia Santa Lucia station take a closer look at a single coloured silk screen print work by Layer 1 on train type TAF / ALe 426/506.
Figure 9. Detail of single coloured silk screen print work by Layer 1 and PiM label poster on train type TAF / ALe 426/506.
Figure 11. PiM invitation card seen at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.
Figure 10. Invisible piece by Graf Sichtbar done with invisible ink on train type TAF / ALe 426/506 seen at Venezia Santa Lucia station.Figure 1. Detail of the collaboration between Slomo & Nexr on train type ALe642.Figure 2. Collaboration between Slomo & Nexr using PiM posters, handouts of different Biennale pavilions, silkscreen printing, and spray paint on train type Ale642 as well as the platform of a train station.Figure 3. PiM labelling posters used to advertise the opening of PiM, pasted illegally over official posters in the historic centre of Venice during the 57th Venice Biennale.Figure 4. Work by Lyra & Lyro made with rolled facade paint and spray paint on train type FLIRT / ETR 340 seen at Venezia Santa Lucia Station.Figure 5. Fino’s Metrosnail sprayed on train type FLIRT / ETR 340.Figure 6. Inside out view of Fino’s Egyptmetro on train type TAF / ALe 426/506 seen at Venezia Santa Lucia station.Figure 7. Two colored silk screen prints by Layer 1 on train type TAF / ALe 426/506.Figure 8. Passengers at Venezia Santa Lucia station take a closer look at a single coloured silk screen print work by Layer 1 on train type TAF / ALe 426/506.Figure 9. Detail of single coloured silk screen print work by Layer 1 and PiM label poster on train type TAF / ALe 426/506.Figure 11. PiM invitation card seen at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.Figure 10. Invisible piece by Graf Sichtbar done with invisible ink on train type TAF / ALe 426/506 seen at Venezia Santa Lucia station.Jens Besser is an urban art artist and curator with a large international network. He graduated from the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in 2008. Large-format murals and unauthorised hand-drawn interventions in public spaces characterise his artistic work. His artistic activity led him to Chile, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia. In addition to his own artistic career, he curates urban art projects. Among these are the mural projects ‘Lak Aan Braak’ (2011) in Heerlen, ‘RAUM – City Bilder’ (2011/2012) and ‘Leuben Murals’ (2017) in Dresden and the exhibitions ‘Muralismo Morte’ (2009), ‘Conceptual Vandalism’ (2012/2013) and ‘FreightTrainWorks’ (2017) in Dresden. Besser is also part of the organising team of the ‘LackStreicheKleber – Urban Art Festival Dresden’. In addition to his curatorial work, Besser regularly publishes texts and publications. He is the author of Muralismo Morte – The Rebirth Of Muralism In Contemporary Urban Art (2010) and co-author of Time For Murals (2014), and FreightTrainWorks (2018).
