Ernesto Neto is an artist who likes to have fun. That should be no surprise since he comes from Brazil, a country where the value of pleasure is very much respected. He creates immersive sculptural environments made of stretchy, stocking–like material and loose, transparent scrims that are often filled with aromatic spices or malleable Styrofoam pellets. But don’t get fooled by his playful sculptures because they are not playgrounds.

Ernesto Neto at Espace Louis Vuitton
photo 4.bp.blogspot.com

Most of his works explicitly refer to the human body. However, he does not want to make works that depict a body but he wants them “to be a body, exist as a body or as close to that as possible”. He’s interested in the way people move through and investigate space, how the body interacts with the work, stripping away the inhibitions with which people approach art. Usually he tries to understand the world through touch, not just through the skin, but also through other senses – touching with your gaze, your sense of smell, and as Neto put it “touching with your mind” . And he hopes viewers will explore his work the same way, using all their senses.

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Ernesto Neto at Hayward Gallery
photo guardian.co.uk

Probably the best example for the Neto – specific sensorial journey is The Edges of the World. It is the largest work Neto made to this date and consisted of a series of site specific installations in and around the Hayward Gallery in London that people had to enter, explore or just relax in. There were seven different sculptures conceived as a whole including a strawberry shaped pavilion made of plush and translucent pink fabric, a tunnel of “bones”, wooden biomorphic shapes locked together, “membranes”, translucent fabrics in pastel colors and a pool with two changing rooms. Smells of lavender and chamomile floated towards the visitor.

Breathing the Voyage, an interactive work incorporating camomile and lavender
photo guardian.co.uk

Edges of the World
photo theartblog.org

Edges of the World
photo nicolaanthony.wordpress.com

Neto’s works experiment with new forms of communication and interpersonal relationships. He tends to incorporate interactivity in his large sculptures precisely to activate that sense of community and mass participation. While giving people an individual experience, his works become, at the same time, a collective experience in a shared social space. Participants complete the art work, interaction being by far the most important part of these pieces.
For his latest work, While Culture Moves Us Apart, Nature Brings Us Together made for Sharjah Biennial 11 in the United Arab Emirates, he created a dome-like frame draped with netted ropes, a calm and intimate space that resembles the traditional Islamic courtyards containing shade, benches, greenery, and a small pond.

While Culture Moves Us Apart, Nature Brings Us Together
photo http://artreview.com/

While Culture Moves Us Apart, Nature Brings Us Together
photo blog.archpaper.com

You can see his latest sculpture until May 13 at Sharjah Biennial 11/ United Arab Emirates.

By Geo Fita

Geo Fita is an art & internet enthusiast living in Bucharest.