WORDS Mary Garner VIDEO FondationBeyeler via YouTube
Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto recently created a breathtaking large-scale installation – entitled GaiaMotherTree – in Zürich Main station in Switzerland, forming part of museum Fondation Beyeler’s public art programme.
“An artwork is a poem,” says Ernesto in the clip above. Despite the immense size of the work, for Ernesto it’s in fact all about intimacy.
The piece is made up of bright hand-knotted cotton strips (a total of 10 220 metres of cotton to be exact) that, once suspended and complete, looks like a towering tree. It took 27 people to complete the work over three months, which extended 20 metres high all the way to the station ceiling and functioned as a walk-in meeting space and venue for public meditation and interaction.
The intention behind the sculptural piece is to provide the viewer with an enjoyable experience. In Ernesto’s own words, “Take off your shoes and feel free to walk in, lie down, take a nap, dream.”
For more information about this piece, visit fondationbeyeler.ch.
