For 14 Billion (Working Title) Saraceno enlisted the
aid of spider experts to create an oversized model
of the web of the Latrodectus mactans (Black
Widow) spider.
Through his work
Saraceno explores possible visions of a better
world; his interest in architectural projects is part
of this ongoing fascination with utopian theories
and astronomical constellations. Taking his
inspiration from the natural environment he
rethinks how we live and our relation to one
another; reshaping ideas and perceptions on
ownership, property and even nationality. He
challenges our ideas about the stability of the built
environment and the structure of urban
environments. Occupying the border regions
between science, art and architecture his works
include anything from spheres and cloud creations
to flying gardens, space elevators and futuristic
dwellings.
In collaboration with
arachnologists, astrophysicists, architects and
engineers, Saraceno has spent two years
developing 14 Billion (Working Title). His
point of
departure for this new work was science’s use of
spiders’ webs when describing the origin and
structure of the universe. The resulting installation
spans an enormous 400 cubic metres, is composed
of 8000 black strings connected by over 23,000
individually tied knots and depicts a monstrous
Black Widow spider’s web. At BALTIC the work will
be housed within a specially created white cube
space located in the Level 2 gallery enabling
visitors to walk through and around the installation.
14 Billion (Working Title) is a
development of the work Galaxy Forming along
Filaments, like Droplets along the Strands of a
Spider’s Web which he presented at the 53rd Venice
Biennale in 2009. Thomas Saraceno is guest artist
for 2010 at Bonnier Konsthall, Stockholm where 14
Billion (Working Title) was previously exhibited.
Tomás Saraceno
14 Billion (working title)
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art,
17 July
– 10 October 2010
Tomás Saraceno 14 Billion (working title) at Baltic
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- Elena Sommariva
- 22 July 2010