Teresa Margolles’ work entitled ‘What else could we talk about?’ was in a beautiful palazzo behind Saint Mark’s Square. Her work deals with the recent upsurge of violence in Mexico. She works with collaborators to find the scenes of violent crimes, where they mop up blood or some of the mud from a scene of execution. From these remains she produces hangings drenched in blood or mud. In this intervention, those containing mud were kept moist with a fine spray and the mud collected from them was used to mop the floors of this ancient palazzo. I found the hangings rather ghoulish and macabre and it felt as if these people and their blood were being exploited. I did not understand why the blood and mud were being washed into the fabric of the palazzo which had no connection with the original site, but I did find the mop and bucket in the empty room intriguing and felt that was a more subtle way of transmitting the message. However, some of those who saw it with me were moved by the hangings, which I am sure was the intention of the artist.
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