You are not welcome

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME is a collective exhibition gathering together works from Gli Impresari, Elena Mazzi, Outofline Photo Collective, Claudia Rossini, Luca Pucci, Eleonora Sovrani and Zerozak, concerning the theme of cruises transit across Venice lagoon. 
Last year 548 cruise ships passed through Venice, making a total of 1.815.823 passengers.  The pollution caused by cruises, which is on average 2700 times higher than that derived from vehicles, represents a serious threat, both for citizens health and the survival of the lagoon ecosystem.
Apart from the environmental issue, cruises’ transit carries a complex set of problems: from the model of tourism proposed to the jeopardized historical and monumental heritage. Their over- range size has a profound impact not only on the city’s liveability, but also upon collective imaginary, both of people living  and visiting Venice, changing their common perception forever.
This transformation, understood by the artists on display, has been dealt with in different moments and manners. Videos, installations and photographic series highlight different aspects of cruise ships transit and its effect upon a city as fragile as Venice.
The exhibition aims at opening a discussion on whether the model represented by cruises could be sustainable or not. A fundamental cause of reflection is the parallelism between cruise ships and major works, both chances for profit, robbery and territory exploitation, both supported by the entanglement of politics and business, both characterized by the fundamental right, neglected to citizens, to decide upon their own land and waters.
S.a.L.E. Docks has always considered the practice of art as an instrument of inquiry and active involvement. Looking at a phenomenon of such magnitude, we can only try to give a critical analysis, because talking about cruises means talking about the city we live in and the way we wish it was.

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