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Nam June Paik «German Pavilion: Marco Polo» | German Pavilion
Nam June Paik, «German Pavilion: Marco Polo», 1993
German Pavilion | Photograph: Dieter Daniels | © Nam June Paik
Paik set up old TV sets without covers along the outside wall of the pavilion, as if he were looking back at all the sets that have passed on in the service of his art over the years.


 Nam June Paik
«German Pavilion: Marco Polo»

Nam June Paik was invited to represent Germany at the Venice Biennial with Hans Haacke in 1993. Hans Haacke used the central space in the pavilion and Paik used the two side wings and the exterior. The jury awarded him a 'Golden Lion'. Paik's central motif is the connection between Asia and Europe, which Marco Polo first described in his famous journey from Venice to Ulan Bator. Thus this figure represents Marco Polo's metamorphosis in an age of global media communication.