Fred Wilson - Chandeliers

For Wilson's exhibition, Speak of Me as I Am at the Venice Biennale, he investigated the history of Venice's African population, fully immersing himself in the study of how Africans were depicted in 17th and 18th century Venetian paintings and decorative arts. Using phrases from Shakespeare's Othello to title his first as well as most subsequent chandeliers, Wilson created Speak of Me as I Am: Chandelier Mori in Murano in the traditional Rezzonico style. Made in black glass, it is the first black chandelier ever to be created in the history of Venetian glassmaking. Wilson's chandeliers utilize the seductive beauty of Venetian craftsmanship while simultaneously subverting assumptions of a homogenous European culture.