Al Chiuso Archway - Dyra Dwelling | Kristjana S Williams

Al Chiuso Archway - Dyra Dwelling, a beautiful limited edition print on paper by artist Kristjana S Williams. Part of the Venice Collection.

The story behind the artwork:

Capturing a post-anthrocene world of the imagination, the artwork in the Venice Collection imbues a Dali-esque contemplation of a life where the power of nature is enabled to take hold; colour is heightened, oxygen flows, and the animal kingdom reclaims habitats lost and gains territories discovered, those left bare by the absence of humanity. The impact the lockdowns have had on our environment has been remarkable. Absorb yourself in the paradox of a demi-Utopia, where clear, calm waters dissolve the social and environmental conundrums of society.

Kristjana's love affair with Venice began with a visit in 2010, where the incredible architecture and light found at every corner was only enhanced by the 20th Century art housed at the Peggy Guggenheim. It was 10 years later that Kristjana stumbled upon some 19th Century Venetian stereoscopic prints by photographic pioneer, Carlo Ponti.

Reach inside architectural Venice, to Byzantine balustrades and Ottoman archways, doric columns and gothic statues, these man-made structures a counterpoint to the burgeoning animalia within. There is no fear of humanity returning to claim these spaces. The grand palazzo is transformed into a cosy and intimate habitat for a poliferately evolving range of species; a beastial bottega where the maestro instructs his ‘allievi’ in the intricacies of this new world order - the over-sized rabbit, lounging on velvet, the incongruous skunk in the bedchamber, the scaled serpent, commanding man-made Italian columns, disdainful of the discarded literary tomes laying at the feet of diminutive beasts from another world. Unheirarchic and free of humans, a refreshed Venice welcomes this new animal order.