Denmark “Coastal Imaginaries” Venice International Architecture Biennale

Denmark, Coastal Imaginaries In a large model showing the country's ruin, the Copenhagen mermaid was invited to the Danish Pavilion to join us in witnessing rising sea levels.

It is certain that for countries like Denmark, rising waters are a real threat to the country's coastal cities.

Hence the an absolute need to rethink the architecture of the country's areas threatened by the effects of global warming.

The vision of the destruction of Danish coastal cities, presented at the Architecture Biennale, refers to the same threat that also weighs on Venice.

As Josephine Michau, curator of the exhibition, explains:

Denmark, Coastal Imaginaries

“Coastal regions, with their rapid and unstable changes, are appropriate representations of the planet's climate.

It is widely recognized that the current situation is mainly attributable to the hegemony of Western discourses that glorify the progress achieved through imperialism, colonialism, and extractivism.

If we want to create a better future, we need new ways of looking at our relationship with the planet.

In the model presented, the public discovers the coastline of Copenhagen from the perspective of the mermaid who has left her natural habitat to return to her natural element, the ocean.

It responds to the vulnerability of current coastal landscapes and climate change's harsh reality.

The feeling of surrendering to nature and integrating it into human life rather than working against it was an essential source of inspiration for this work.”
Josephine Michau, curator of the Danish exhibition

Denmark, Coastal Imaginaries