Tide of Returns, on view from March 28th to October 11th, 2026 at Ocean Space, brings together the research of the Repatriates Collective in a resonant meditation on repatriation, water, and cultural memory. Installed within the former Church of San Lorenzo, the exhibition opens the 2026 season of TBA21–Academy, continuing its focus on oceanic knowledge and intercultural exchange.
Across the two wings of the building, the space is shaped into a sensory landscape where stories circulate through sound, material, and gesture. Drawing from collaborations with Indigenous communities, repatriation is approached here as a ceremonial practice—an act of care grounded in continuity, ancestral knowledge, and the endurance of cultural presence. Water threads through the exhibition as both medium and memory, linking geographies and generations.
West wing: sand, shells, and a chorus of ancestral voices
In the west wing, a vast installation of sand, shells, textiles, and moving image unfolds around a dune partially formed with material from Noeleen Lalara’s land. Thousands of handcrafted figures—among them shell dolls—gather into a quiet assembly, accompanied by a layered soundscape that carries voices across distance, suggesting sound itself as a vessel of knowledge.
East wing: weaving care, identity, and collective healing
The east wing shifts in tone. Here, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt presents a textile and video work in which braided fabrics echo currents of water and strands of hair. Filmed sequences of washing and weaving unfold with a measured rhythm, tracing gestures of care that bind body, landscape, and memory into a continuous cycle.
Beyond the installations, the exhibition extends into research and education through TBA21–Academy’s OCEAN / UNI programme, alongside Nature Speaks, a parallel project centred on the Rights of Nature. Together, these strands position Tide of Returns as a space of listening and exchange, where artistic practice, ecological thought, and Indigenous perspectives shape a shared conversation about heritage and future custodianship.
Exhibition view of Tide of Returns, OCEAN SPACE, Venice
Commissioned and produced by TBA21–ACADEMY
Photography by JACOPO SALVI
