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      A 79-Foot Labyrinth Crocheted by Ernesto Neto Hangs from the Ceiling of a Houston Museum

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      Art

      #crochet
      #installation
      #site-specific
      #thread

      June 15, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “SunForceOceanLife” (2021), 30 x 79 x 55 feet. All images © Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, shared with permission
      Brazillian artist Ernesto Neto (previously) is known for his enormous, fiber-based installations that plunge viewers into a multi-sensory landscape of organic elements: people are encouraged to walk through canals of stretched yarn and grasp the structural weavings, while spicy scents like turmeric and cumin are often diffused throughout the room.
      Similarly immersive and imposing, Neto’s latest work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is one of his largest to date. “SunForceOceanLife” is a hand-crocheted, walkable maze of yellow, orange, and green threads that stretch 79 feet across the gallery and spiral 12 feet in the air. The pliable installation centers around “fire, the vital energy that enables life on this planet,” the artist says, sharing that each polymer string utilized is burned at the end to further infuse the piece with sacred, meditative rituals. “I hope that the experience of this work will feel like a chant made in gratitude to the gigantic ball of fire we call the sun, a gesture of thanks for the energy, truth, and power that it shares with us as it touches our land, our oceans, and our life,” he writes.
      Plastic balls also fill the pathway and shift underfoot, which forces those passing through the suspended structure to intentionally maintain their balance. Neto explains:
      It directly engages the body as does a joyful dance or meditation, inviting us to relax, breathe, and uncouple our body from our conscious mind. The sensation of floating, the body cradled by the crocheted fruits of our labor, brings to mind a hammock: the quintessential indigenous invention that uplifts us and connects us to the wisdom and traditions of our ancestors.
      “SunForceOceanLife” is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston through September 26, 2021. You can see more of Neto’s interactive, site-specific projects at Galerie Max Hetzler. (via designboom)

      #crochet
      #installation
      #site-specific
      #thread

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    • 113 Shares109 Views

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      Playful Ocean Life Sprawls Throughout Mulyana’s Immersive, Knit Installations

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      Art
      Craft

      #coral
      #crochet
      #installation
      #knitting
      #ocean
      #octopi
      #sustainability
      #yarn

      July 20, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Big Mogus” (2020), yarn and dacron, 96 1/2 × 18 7/8 × 22 1/8 inches. All images © Mulyana, shared with permission
      Complete with spiraled tentacles, textured features, and toothy grins, the yarn-based creatures that Indonesian artist Mulyana knits and crochets take a playful, bizarre approach to ocean life. The artist frequently recreates what he refers to as the mogus, or octopus, as a mainstay in his underwater environments. Dotted with multiple sets of eyes, the creature has various iterations ranging in size, color, facial contortions, and number of tentacles. Each billowing mogus is presented suspended from the ceiling, giving it the appearance of floating through the ocean.
      While many of Mulyana’s formations are brightly colored, the pieces in his Bety series (shown below) are crafted entirely in white to draw attention to coral bleaching caused by pollution. To maintain his own commitments to sustainability and community, Mulyana re-purposes the yarn that forms his textured corals and ocean life.
      If you’re in New York, Mulyana’s sea creatures can be seen at Sapar Contemporary through August 21. Otherwise, keep up with the artist’s vibrant projects on Instagram, and check out where the mogus heads on its next adventure.

      “Harmony 14” (2019), yarn, Dacron, cable wire, and plastic net, 41 3/4 × 60 5/8 × 17 3/4 inches
      Left: “Mogus 39” (2020), yarn and dacron, 14 1/8 × 29 7/8 × 5 1/8 inches
      “Bety 1” (2020), yarn, dacron, cable wire, and plastic net, 73 5/8 × 37 3/8 × 20 1/8 inches

      Big Mogus” (2020), yarn and dacron, 96 1/2 × 18 7/8 × 22 1/8 inches

      #coral
      #crochet
      #installation
      #knitting
      #ocean
      #octopi
      #sustainability
      #yarn

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      Extravagant Masks by threadstories Offer Cultural Commentary on Selfhood and Social Media

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       All images © threadstories, shared with permission Covered in full-face masks of fringe and knotted details, threadstories (previously) explores the tension between contemporary portrayals of public and private life. The Irish artist poses in front of gray backdrops for her self-portraits that obscure her face and only sometimes reveal a set of eyes or […] More