Antiporta: A Fading Negotiation

Venice, Italy

Antiporta: A Fading Negotiation, was an installation that was realised in the sala nobile on the first floor of Palazzo Mora, in the Zona Cannaregio in Venice. The high-ceilinged room allowed for a flooding of natural light to seep into the space. A lightweight metal structure and frame complements and juxtaposes the imposing balcony windows. Sheer fabrics mimic the varying translucencies of the antiporta glass textures. A red velvet stool complements a stressed, ornate strip of carpet, inviting visitors to enter the chambers, wherein a two-minute clip plays on loop. The distinct ringing of a bell is audible throughout the room, together with voices, speaking in a Maltese tongue. The story of the antiporta is narrated – its function, its purpose, as well as its vanishing tradition – hence the reference to ‘a fading negotiation’. The Antiporta installation – showing in the Time Space Existence exhibition within the Venice Architecture Biennale programme – highlighted a prevalent element of traditional Maltese architecture disappearing from the Maltese architectural fabric.

The antiporta is a staple element characterising traditional residential architecture, and although it can be found in other countries and contexts, it hardly possesses the same qualities, function or even inherent element of performance, as it does in a Maltese context.

Photos by David Zammit, public