Ernesto Neto: ‘The Edges of the World’ Exhibition Review
Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto created a spectacular installation called The Edges Of the World for the Brazil Festival organized every summer in Southbank Centre in London. This installation can be aptly described as a roof top swimming pool of fabric that adorns the entire upper floor of the Hayward Gallery but would certainly not look amiss in the Friars Gallery. It looks like a plush bubble-like space which undulates on nudging. It is filled with slightly warm, blue water and it was available to 16 people at a time. There was also a suite of multicolored caverns on the terrace and plop into a bathtub of water.
The exhibit was made of nylon, Neto’s favorite material. The entire structure floated, drifted and stretched into caverns and tunnels that were simply magically beautiful and sensuous. The interiors of the structure bathed in shimmering blue and gold, and looked quite romantic. It was interestingly decorated with bulbs and lanterns and scented with lavender and chamomile. This was a truly remarkable creation and it is difficult to fathom how exactly it was conceived. The hidden world that goes beyond the nylon ceiling was accessible only if one climbs the staircases. It is from there that the ceiling became the ground where a forest of nylon segment was grown. From that point only the tip of the large structure can be seen.
There is a child hidden in all of us. This exhibition allowed many of us to escape from the harsh realities of our hectic urban lives and helped us to rediscover the inner child. The thought that had triggered the creation of the Edge Of the world is quite deep and complex. Neto feels there is an edge between any two things and his work is about exploring the boundaries. The idea was to allow us to connect with a quiet and softer world where we have a moment to think about the healthier ways we can lead our lives.
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