Lena Herzog in Venice

ANY WAR ANY ENEMY

Any War Any Enemy presents the new work of multidisciplinary conceptual artist Lena Herzog. Curated by Silvia Burini and Giuseppe Barbieri on the occasion of the 60th Venice Art Biennale, the exhibition forms an ideal "diptych" with Last Whispers: Immersive Oratorio for Vanishing Voices, Collapsing Universes and, a Falling Tree, created in 2022 for the 59th Venice Art Biennale. Both projects reflect on the theme of extinction: that of languages in Last Whispers , and that of the entire planet in the aftermath of a possible, global nuclear war in Any War Any Enemy. A rallying cry for the suffering that every conflict inevitably provokes, the exhibition is a heartbreaking - if poetic - reflection on war and all conflicts, past, present and future, that plague many countries around the world.

Like in her previous works, Herzog conceived Any War Any Enemy at the intersection of art and science, combining cutting-edge experimental techniques with centuries-old artistic practices. Through a black mirror, murals, and ten mezzotints, the project takes on a complex "multimodal" configuration. "Who is my enemy?" asks the visitor. The mirror answers.
Credit Ca' Foscari University

ANY WAR ANY ENEMY