The Russian pavilion at Venice’s Biennale art show got a rush of visitors on Friday.

Unfortunately for the Russians, the visitors were all there to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Artists, gallery owners, curators and people displaying pieces at the modern art festival converged on the Russian side for the demonstration.

Ukrainian actor Aleksey Yudnikov gave a performance in front of the Russian space for a few minutes before he was taken away by police.

However, he returned minutes later in a dark jacket and wearing a mask with a likeness similar to that of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian pavilion is going unused this year after the artistic team pulled out.

However, it was in a prominent location and under constant police guard, precisely to minimise the chance of protests.

It was also near an installation set up by Ukrainian artists.

Named “Piazza Ucraina,’’ it is a tower of sandbags surrounded by works by Ukrainian artists unable to make it to Venice due to the war.

There is also a proper Ukrainian pavilion elsewhere at the Biennale.

Visitors can find artist and sculptor Pavlo Makov there, with his “fountain of exhaustion,’’ a pyramid-shaped sculpture through which water flows, passing through a series of funnels to create never-ending motion.

Mr Makov sees this as “a connection to the democratic society of our time because they are not ready to defend themselves.’’

The Biennale opens to the public on Saturday.

It had to be delayed a year due to the Coronavirus.

It will stay open until November.

The main exhibit is titled “The Milk of Dreams,’’ but the show also includes more than 1,500 works by 213 artists from 58 countries, as well as 80 national pavilions. 

(dpa/NAN)