BY AYUSH REGMI

It's the 23rd year of the Triennale Milano currently showing in Milan, Italy, with this year's theme; “Unknown, Unknowns. An introduction to mysteries”.

Art, design, and architecture are used to explore ideas of what we don’t know about ourselves, bacteria, and the universe.

This exhibition applies this theme to look into ideas and concepts humans cannot comprehend completely.

The creation of the Milan Triennial brought together over 400 artists from 40 different countries.

The Triennale is held in the Palazzo dell'Arte built in 1933, the date of the First Triennale, and will be on display until December 11, 2022.

Alesandro Mason, a designer working for the Milan Triennial said all the artists in the Triennial have a global impact through their work.

“I trust in collective power, many people who delve deep into this topic are somehow a part of a global field research,” he said.

The Triennial also houses installations from 23 different countries including China and Mexico among 15 European countries and 6 African countries.

The concept of ‘the unknown’ may strike fear in people, as mysteries challenging the boundaries of what we know could create a sense of existentialism in a lot of people.

On the other hand, it may be calming for exhibition attendees to feel that we are all sailing through this world of mysteries together. With extra comfort coming from seeing so many artists questioning the mysteries of the universe, or what we perceive of it.

After the global pandemic, a level of uncertainty is a commonly shared feeling across the globe.

The Milan Triennial reflects this unsure space, connecting with its viewers who are trying to manage every day of life.

Jacob Pham, a third-year communications design student in the Prato Program saw the exhibition as a way to gain new insights and a different perspective of the unknown.

“[The exhibition] shows seemingly unrelated things, and they all somehow come together,” Jacob Pham said.

“The Triennial inspires me to increase depth in my work and come up with ideas beyond the superficiality of aesthetics”.

This year's Milan Triennial theme helps a wider audience realise what life can be beyond the everyday sense of survival.

Deeper realities are questioned while moving through such an expansive collection.

Moving through a vast art display may also leave viewers overwhelmed, with a lot of things to see.

Designer Allesandro Mason said that walking through such a huge exhibition.

“[It] is like taking a walk in the forest, you keep on walking until something catches your eye and you focus on it and look into it deeper,” Mr Mason said.

For me personally, attending this exhibition made me contemplate how the world itself has much to offer that we don't know.

While human actions cause us to question what we are doing to ourselves as a species, the natural world around us, mathematical relations to the universe, and the cosmos beyond us leave us with more mysteries.

The Triennial mentions it is supposed to leave the viewer with more questions than answers.