'Lunar Ensemble for Uprising Seas': Petrit Halilaj & Álvaro Urbano’s Immersive Warning on Climate Change in Venice

Berlin-based artist duo Petrit Halilaj & Álvaro Urbano created a piece titled Lunar Ensemble for Uprising Seas in the deconsecrated church of San Lorenzo in Venice, Italy. The piece uses sculpture and sound design to transform the church into an underwater ecosystem and it is a cautionary tale of Venice being fully submerged. A reality that does not seem too distant given how climate change has been actively sinking the city. Halilaj & Urbano’s piece acts as a wake-up call for governments and individuals alike to make concrete changes to their habits that will help to ensure the direct effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, are reversed, reflecting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Climate Action.

The piece was co-commissioned by Audemars Piguet Contemporary, the art program of the luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet and Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum Madrid’s contemporary art research arm, TBA21–Academy. The commission is also the first partnership in the history of Ocean Space, a subsidiary of the TBA21-Academy, dedicated to environmental advocacy and ocean research that was opened in the historic San Lorenzo Church.

Halilaj & Urbano have transformed the sixteenth-century church into a fictional and yet realistic underwater ecosystem. Urbano’s background in architecture also means that he was able to fully leverage the church’s interior to create the sculptural installations, making it look as natural as possible as if the church had, in fact, been submerged and fish made it their home.

The final result resembles aquatic life if one were to go boating and look at the seabed from above. It is as if looking at the world through a single hue-filtered lens: blueish or whiteish, depending on the colour of the sand, ocean depth, and time of day.

Halilaj & Urbano created their sculptures out of aluminum, colouring their marine life a natural silver hue one frequently encounters in fish. A large moon hangs from the ceiling, nurturing these life forms. They have intentionally abstracted the shapes of these life forms to a certain degree to mimic motion and allow viewers to feel the authenticity of this otherwise contrived experience.

Halilaj & Urbano also incorporated sound into their installation. Each aluminum sculpture doubles as a musical instrument, with trumpets and horns concealed under their fins and tendrils. Some even have bells hanging from them, meaning the slightest movement is all that is necessary to have them emit sound. To activate these instruments, Halilaj & Urbano staged monthly performances where around 20 performers and musicians interacted playfully with the pieces. “What we want is for there never to be a fully-completed show. It is a constant questioning, a way to ask social and environmental questions,” shared Halilaj about the performances.

Finally, the piece’s message for the individual viewers to engage with climate action is not lost, as they are confronted by a visual representation of Venice’s possible future should humankind lose it to rising sea levels. The interactive aspect of the installation, where performance and sound are introduced, signifies the artist’s push towards their viewers to think creatively and ponder on their own contributions toward the fight against climate change.