A late – albeit necessary – review of Trevor Yeung’s collateral exhibition, Courtyard of Attachments, presented in the 60th Venice Biennale.

We stumbled upon Hong Kong in Venice’s courtyard in the sestiere of Castello and glimpsed, through open gates, an unusual fountain: a proto-pyramid of fish tanks, sans fish. The stacked, water-filled glass aquariums resembled a miniature, multi-tiered pastoral capitalist landscape. My interest was piqued. We popped in before visiting the Arsenal.

The fountain – Pond of Never Enough, Salty Lover (Venice) – took brackish water from the Grand Canal of Venice and filtered clean water back into the lagoon. This piece was flanked by pots of lotus plants, titled Mx. Trying-My-Best. By the chillier month of November, the plants had mostly faded, leaving only a few stray leaves as traces. Earlier in the exhibition, the lotus plants flourished in pots full of industrial waste and solar panels, exemplifying their resiliency.

Inside the gallery, we encountered Yeung’s nine remaining pieces. The most striking in both size and mood was Cave of Avoidance (Not Yours). We entered a darkened room lit by the purple glow of bubbling aquariums – again, sans fish. We stared at our reflections in the mirror-backed tanks, imagining it was we who inhabited them, as Yeung intended.

There is something familiar about the constructed heterotopic space of a pet shop or a seafood restaurant that Yeung referenced with his fish tanks – and not just for Hongkongers. The allure of colored fluorescent lights refracted in watery aquascapes is something of memories and dreams … or a scene from a Wong Kar Wai film that now resides in a cultural memory far beyond the city of Hong Kong. I wish I could say that I’ve been to Hong Kong to experience more closely what Yeung evoked, nonetheless I too feel some attachment to these aquascapes. Michel Foucault used the term heterotopia to describe spaces that are “other,” spaces that mirror and invert the world around them – sort of worlds within worlds. The garden was a prime example for Foucault: “The garden is the smallest parcel of the world, and then it is the totality of the world.” Vivariums – these little enclosed environments designed to replicate a natural habitat – would qualify.

Each aquatic installation was designed, constructed, and maintained with precision throughout the exhibition, creating a persistent feeling of control that accompanied the dreaminess. In an instant, a sort of naiveté about these spaces is revealed. How quaint it is that we humans create these idealized microcosms, mirroring nature yet wholly dependent on their caretakers. Quite a reversal in the dynamics of power.

In Courtyard of Attachments, Yeung invited us “to consider the emotional disconnect and power dynamics that characterize society today.” Admittedly, it took some time for this to click. In this world of self-contained systems, each system still relied on another, even if, at first glance, each appeared independent: the fountain, dependent on the water from the canal to function; the lagoon, on the water filtered from the fountain; the aquariums, on those who cleaned them regularly to prevent buildup. In nature, it is the opposite—as we are finding out the hard way, witnessing the increasingly extreme effects of climate change. Despite humans’ attempts to yoke nature, we are at its mercy and must play by its rules. These constructed environments devoid of fish confronted us… was it a warning? A harbinger? A call to action? Perhaps all of the above.

Yeung gently led us into the violet cave, compelling us to realize how connected we are to the world around us. Perhaps it was a subtle nudge toward embracing a more holistic, environmental perspective—one that resonates with the philosophy of deep ecology, which emphasizes the intrinsic value of all living beings and our interconnectedness with the planet.

                                                                                                                                                                                          Olivia Gilmore

Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Rolling Gold Fountain (detail), installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice, 2024 Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Cave of Avoidance (Not Yours) (detail), installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice, 2024 Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio

Cave of Avoidance (Not Yours) (detail), installation view of Trevor Yeung: Courtyard of Attachments, Hong Kong in Venice, 2024 Commissioned by M+, 2024 Photo: © Ela Bialkowska, OKNO studio