IntheSwissPavilionatthe57thVeniceBiennale,theSwissAmericanartistduoTeresaHubbard/AlexanderBirchler(born1965and1962respectively)presentedFloraandBust,exploringthelifeoftheunknownAmericanartistFloraMayo,withwhomAlbertoGiacomettihadaloveaffairinParisinthe1920s.WhileGiacomettiisoneofthemostcelebratedartistsofthe20thcentury,Mayo’soeuvrehasbeendestroyed,herbiographyrelegatedtoafootnoteinGiacomettischolarship.Inthisacclaimedwork,whichhaditsAmericanpremiereattheLosAngelesCountyMuseumofArt(LACMA)in2019,Hubbard/BirchlerreframeMayo’shistorythroughafeministperspectivethatinterweavesreconstruction,reenactmentanddocumentaryintoahybridformofstorytelling.Flora,adouble-sidedfilminstallation,isconceivedasaconversationbetweenMayoandherson,David,whomtheartistsdiscoveredlivingnearLosAngeles.Theworkgeneratesamultifaceteddialoguebetweenamotherandson,MayoandGiacometti,ParisandLosAngeles,andpastandpresent.ThisrichlyillustratedbookdepictsthejourneyofHubbard/Birchler’sprocessandisaccompaniedbyatranscriptofthefilminstallation,avisualchronologyofFloraMayo’slife,andconversationswiththeartists.
