Javier Mars ⎜Venice (spain/netherlands)

Bio

Javier Mars is an Amsterdam-based artist originally from Spain. He creates installations, sculptures and performances as part of an ongoing investigation into hauntological scenarios, decay, humor and body horror. His works are based on a meticulous research process of constructing and deconstructing site-specific micro-narratives. By establishing the connections between facts and fantasies, memory is treated as a malleable object. Mars incorporates a variety of media into his process, including found objects, field recordings, video and storytelling, which engage in dialogue with the immediate environment.

At the Narva Venice Embassy, Javier will create a performative walkscape in the form of a film using musical artefacts and site-specific installations produced from found objects. This project encourages reflection on both the tangible and intangible aspects of Narva Venice, delving into the intersection of folklore, environment and sound while blurring the boundaries between facts and fantasies.

Project

Vesipääs (2025) was presented as a performative guided tour through the liminal waterscapes of Kulgu, Narva (EE). Taking its name from the Estonian word for “water access”, the project explored thresholds — both physical and mythical, where land dissolves into water and certainty fades into fantasy.

Participants were guided through two unfolding acts: first, walking through Kulgu’s overgrown paths and then taking a boat trip along the canals of the Narva reservoir. Along the way, they wore custom sensory-deprivation masks with integrated headphones that played a composed soundscape, merging field recordings and surreal fiction inspired by Estonian folklore and local myths.

The canals became both stage and protagonist: a restless archive of whispered secrets and lingering spirits just beneath the surface. Drawn from the deep lore of liminal waters, Vesipääs opened a passage into instability and trance where orientation dissolved and meaning drifted.

The performance culminated with a public screening of its film. This screening took place on a floating screen on the Narva reservoir, created especially for the occasion.

Listen to the sound journey “Vesipääs” made by Javier Mars:

Photos taken by Anastassia Volkova and Saara Mildeberg: