The last time we talked about Ernesto Neto was about three years ago, when he created the installation GaiaMotherTree inside Zurich station. Today we’re talking about it again because the Brazilian artist has picked up metres and metres of coloured threads to create a new immersive multicoloured work. 

It is called SunForceOceanLife and is presented as a sort of labyrinth in the form of a spiral that can be walked through. The installation is the first work to welcome visitors to Ernesto Neto’s solo exhibition at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, who will be able to immediately immerse themselves in the artist’s world. 

SunForceOceanLife hangs from the ceiling, is raised just over three metres above the ground, is about 9 metres high, 16 metres deep and 24 metres wide, dimensions that take up almost the entire space offered by the Cullinan Hall of the Caroline Wiess Law Building, where the exhibition is set up. 

The installation has been created by sewing and weaving yellow, orange and green threads into a walkable path using coloured plastic balls (from children’s toys). The sensation will be that of floating on a cloud and, given the precariousness of the path, visitors will be led to find a balance of body and mind and rely on the work. 

“SunForceOceanLife also unites the disciplines of art and culture with biology and cosmology; 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.” – Ernesto Neto

SunForceOceanLife will be on view until 26 September, in the meantime check out all the photos of the work below.