The British Council is delighted to present I, Impostor, a new work by Mike Nelson conceived and created for the British Pavilion at the 54th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia.
Nelson's large-scale sculptural installations immerse the viewer in an unfolding narrative which develops through a sequence of meticulously realised spatial structures. The weaving of fact and fiction are fundamental to Nelson’s practice, and his constructs are steeped in both literary and historic references, whilst drawing upon the geography and cultural context of their location.
Throughout his career, Nelson has constantly returned to and re-examined territories within his own practice, and his new exhibition for the British Pavilion follows the success of his first major solo presentation in Venice in 2001, The Deliverance and the Patience, which was shown as part of the collateral programme at the 49th edition of the Biennale.
For the British Pavilion in 2011, Nelson has elected to take as his starting point another of his own key works from the past decade, Magazin: Büyük Valide Han, originally built for the 8th International Istanbul Biennial in 2003. By relocating and re-working this earlier installation for Venice, Nelson has both created a link between the two former great mercantile centres of the east-west/west-east axes, and drawn upon his own histories with the cities and their respective biennials.
Magazin: Büyük Valide Han was housed in a cell-like space within the vast complex of the Büyük Valide Han, a 17th century caravanserai situated in the Mercan area of Istanbul. It comprised a darkroom on split levels filled with black and white photographic images of the courtyards and dome structures of the exterior of the caravanserai in addition to the immediate surrounding area of the building.
Nelson has referred to the work for Istanbul as being a parasitical installation that had lodged itself into a 17th century building. Based on the photographic memory of the earlier work, with I, Imposter, Nelson has not only rebuilt the original darkroom but sections of the caravanserai itself, so that now a building, from another time and place, exists inside the late 19th century British Pavilion in Venice.
The British Council is publishing a fully illustrated book to commemorate Mike Nelson’s exhibition, which includes newly commissioned texts by Dan Cameron and Rachel Withers, and colour plates of the new work in progress. The book will be available at the British Pavilion during the Press Days and throughout the run of the exhibition.

To download high-resolution installation images of the exhibition please go to: www.britishcouncil-venice.org
Please note: due to the complex nature of the installation, entry to the British Pavilion will need to be restricted during the Press Days to comply with health and safety regulations, therefore queuing is likely.
MIKE NELSON
Born in Loughborough in 1967, Mike Nelson has already received considerable international acclaim for his meticulous installations and his work has been presented in major group and solo exhibitions throughout the world. These include: The Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2001); 49th Venice Biennale (2001); 13th Sydney Biennale (2002); CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco (2002); 8th International Istanbul Biennial (2003); Modern Art Oxford (2004); 26th São Paulo Bienal (2004); Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (2008); Creative Time, New York (2008); Tate Triennial (2009); and 3rd Singapore Biennial (2011).
A recipient of a Paul Hamlyn Award in 2001, Nelson has twice been short-listed for the Turner Prize. One of his large-scale installations, The Coral Reef, originally conceived for Matt’s Gallery, London in 2000, was acquired by Tate in 2008 and is currently on show as part of the Collection Displays at Tate Britain, London.

Nelson lives and works in London. He is represented in the UK by Matt’s Gallery, London, and internationally by Galleria Franco Noero, Turin, and 303 Gallery, New York.

BRITISH COUNCIL
As the UK’s leading cultural relations organisation, the British Council has been responsible for the presentation of the exhibition at the British Pavilion for the International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia since 1938. During this period the Pavilion has hosted exhibitions by many of the most significant artists of the day, providing successive generations with one of the most important platforms for the showcasing of contemporary art to an international audience.
The UK’s presentation at the Venice Biennale is selected by a panel of arts experts drawn from across the UK. The members of this panel change for every edition of the Biennale. For the 2011 Venice Biennale, the Selection Committee consisted of:
Rachel Campbell-Johnson, Art Critic, The Times ; Christoph Grunenberg, Director Tate Liverpool ; Nav Haq, Curator, Arnolfini, Bristol ; Keith Hartley, Senior Curator, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh ; Hugh Mulholland, Director, The Third Space Gallery, Belfast ; Karen MacKinnon, Curator, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea ; Richard Riley, Head of Exhibitions, Visual Arts, British Council ; Ralph Rugoff, Director, Hayward Gallery, London ; Godfrey Worsdale, Director, BALTIC, Gateshead; Chair: Andrea Rose, Director of Visual Arts, British Council.
Commissioner for the British Pavilion 2011: Andrea Rose
Curator for the British Pavilion 2011: Richard Riley