Portraits From the Kochi Biennale: Sculptor Ernesto Neto

Courtesy of Kochi Biennale Foundation Artist Ernesto Neto.

At the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in the Kerala State city of Kochi, India Ink has been interviewing exhibiting artists about their work, their expectations for the biennale and the politics of art. The fair will continue until March 13.

Ernesto Neto, 48, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His sculptures, which often incorporate huge swaths of suspended fabric, are about relationship, he said, and to establish that he includes everything from spices to textiles to architecture. They combine balance and tension with gravity and the sensorial. At the biennale, he is e xhibiting “Life is a River.”

Q.

Can you tell us more about “Life is a River?”

A.

It is basically a connection between the blue drops of my classic spice pieces framed by a horizontal layer of fabrics found in Kochi markets. In a state of gravity, floating on the roof space of Moidu's Heritage [a venue at the biennale] the piece has a desire to connect the culture of my art to the cultural environment I found in India.

Courtesy of Kochi Biennale Foundation Ernesto Neto's installation “Life is a River.”

My work is about relationships. All the elements are in a state of touching the others and the tension generated by it when placed in a field of gravity. The nature of the materials expresses their own personality. This space of relationship finally transpires the room, the roof of the room, the continuity from the architecture to the body of piece, the shell and the flesh.

Q.

How are you finding the biennale?

A.

Usually biennales are oriented by western notions. This is outside that sphere, and the possibilities are amazing. Here it is less about the market and more about relationships. It is very relaxed.

Courtesy of Kochi Biennale Foundation Ernesto Neto's work “The Ed ges of the World,” (2010).

Q.

How did you find the artists spaces?

A.

There were many problems but they were not related to the space. The problems were full of drama. I could not get enough material of the same print and slowly had to change my design a little. I had to literally sit with the local tailors and get my work stitched. It was the first time I experienced something like this.

Q.

Is art political?

A.

The world is oriented to how productive you are, but art to an extent is subjective.