Utopia and fragile democracy at Art Basel fair

This year’s Art Basel, the world’s top contemporary art fair, paints a portrait of a troubled planet, with works embodying the relentless pursuit of happiness and the fragility of democracies.

- NATHALIE OLOF-ORS

The four-day event in the northern Swiss border city of Basel, which closes on Sunday, features more than 280 galleries presenting works by around 4,000 artists.

The monumental works section features an 85m-long installation entitled The Voyage - A March To Utopia.

Created by the studio of Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout, it features 80 large sculptures forming a procession of absurd objects, where “everybody walks in the same direction... on their way to a happy place”, the artist said.

The journey begins with a team of oxen, followed by all means of getting to that better world, including a walking stick, a cart, a toilet on wheels, a wheelchair and a mobile surgical theatre for those struggling to keep up.

Next come objects representing everything the convoy is carrying, followed by sculptures of ghosts symbolising those who didn’t make it to the end.

It ends with machines set to destroy the road behind them, so that “there's no going back”, the artist explained.