Introduction

Esther Schipper is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of Tomás Saraceno at the gallery.

One of Saraceno’s key interests is the scientific observation of environmental, biological and physical systems and their poetic correlation to human perception and ideas about the living environment. Patterns, which the artist discovers in phenomena ranging from macro structures of the outer space to micro bio-systems of nature, invite to imagine alternative ways of the  organisation of life. In the exhibition Tomás Saraceno reveals one of the main sources of his research and inspiration, expanding spatial structures of spider webs. In the first room of the gallery illuminated, translucent cubes are hosting webs built by different species of spiders. Among them social spiders, a small minority between otherwise solitary insects that have developed a social ability. Almost all cobwebs on the display are hybrid creations woven by spiders on top of the older webs built by a different species. These unique multi-generational structures would never occur in ‘nature’. Supervising their development the artist touched upon key principles of social organisation: cooperation, cohabitation and hybridity. This is an artistic experiment that weaves architecture, biology, network analyses and social behaviour into questions of sharing, communicating and building.

In the second space of the gallery large-scale open cobweb installations emphasise the fragility and complexity of the natural structures. The look of the visitor can wander in labyrinths of the spider threads. Like almost all projects of the artist the current works were developed in collaboration with scientists: astrophysicists, arachnologists, radiologists, engineers, biologists and others. The process and unique findings of these collaborations are captured in the works presented in vitrines. Among them, for example, is the proposal for a study of spider webs in the condition of microgravity, which was submitted to the European Science Foundation.

The artist’s fascination with cobwebs arises from applying the image of a spider web in astrophysics where it is used to represent galaxy formations. The ongoing research project of Saraceno started out as an investigation of these universal patterns. The artist’s continuous interest in models of cohabitation, biodiversity, adaptability and hybridity led him further to experiments with spiders growing their homes in an artificial environment. Abstract three-dimensional structures created by the insects point out to little known facets of the universe and become associative signs of co-habitation, generational succession, sociality and survival.