Macau showcases ‘Jacone’s Polyphony’ at this year’s Venice Biennale

At the 61st edition of La Biennale di Venezia, Macau’s “Jacone’s Polyphony” brings together the works of three emerging local artists on an international stage.

Curated by Feng Yan and Ng Sio Ieng, the Macau exhibition reinterprets the creative trajectory of the early Qing dynasty painter, poet, and Catholic convert Wu Li.

In 1681, during Emperor Kangxi’s reign, Wu Li traveled south to Macau to study theology, and it was there that he captured the city’s Chinese-Western cultural blend in his poetry album, Poems from St. Paul’s.

In this album, Wu Li also dreamed of missionary work in Rome, a journey that never took place.

That unfinished journey gives the exhibition its structure.

Divided into four indoor halls connected by an outdoor space, the show forms a loop that links past and present.

Within that framework, Eric Fok Hoi Seng’s Layers of Time uses six engraved bamboo and steel panels, along with metal, laser engraving, and digital screens, to explore history and memory. His Distant Views extends the dialogue further, using bidirectional telescopes to link historic Macau with Rome.

Meanwhile, Veronica Lei’s Sigh of Migration blends sculpture, installation, and painting through wire frames, aluminum foil, and dripping candle wax. Together with O Chi Wai’s works, the exhibition builds a joint narrative about culture, faith, and spirit while echoing the Biennale’s “In Minor Keys” theme. This theme was selected by Koyo Kouoh.

The exhibition opens on May 8 and runs free of charge from May 9 to Nov. 22, 2026, marking Macau’s 10th participation in the Biennale since 2007. It is located at Campo della Tana in the Arsenale venue complex, Castello 2126/A.

Hit by protests, jury resignations

This year’s Venice Biennale faces controversy over Russia’s return and Israel’s pavilion amid the Gaza conflict, with jury resignations, protests, and open letters decrying “artwashing.”

For the first time since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has returned with a pavilion exhibition. Unlike Israel, Russia presented its national exhibition only during preview days, shuttering the pavilion to the public for the rest of the show in compliance with sanctions.

Ukrainian authorities and several European culture ministers have condemned the decision, arguing that a major cultural platform should not normalize a country accused of war crimes.

At the same time, Israel’s pavilion – alongside the United States’ presence – has become another flashpoint.

The 2026 Israel Pavilion at the Venice Biennale faces intense protests, with activists from the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) and other groups organizing a 24-hour strike for May 8, demanding that the pavilion be shut down immediately.

So far, the International Jury of Biennale Arte 2026 has resigned.

Before the resignations, the international jury announced in a statement on April 23 that “this jury will refrain from considering those countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC)” – a decision that would have directly affected the inclusion of Russia and Israel.

Ultimately, on April 30, 2026, La Biennale di Venezia announced that it had received the resignations of Solange Farkas (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi.