Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.

Manifesta 13 Marseille was one of the only international biennials to take place during the global pandemic COVID-19, the biennial ended earlier than planned due to the second national lockdown

Yasumasa Morimura, JP

Photographs at General Staff Building

This project was inspired by the Soviet artist Vera Miliutina and Vasily Kuchumov’s drawings of the Hermitage during the siege in the Second World War. Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura photographed the halls using the same angles that Miliutina and Kuchumov had used in their drawings. These photographs united two visual elements: the present-day views of the museum halls and the images depicting their state during the siege. During the biennial Morimura’s photographs were displayed in the same halls.