Event Review: The Fragility of Tomás Saraceno’s: Particular Matter(s)

Something about Tomás Saraceno’s: Particular Matter(s) was so breathtakingly fragile.with dim, glistening lighting on his concocted webs, my brain, naturally, went into existential mode. At The Shed until April 11,  Saraceno’s  work is a rare experience in New York because it involves silence, which in a city of noise feels like a lost diamond. Yet, in that silence, as you put yourself in the body of a spider, you find an odd sense of godliness.

Tomás Saraceno’s: Particular Matter(s) art exposition is divided in two. The first part is the room I mentioned; where I got super in my head trying to unpack the feelings and meanings I made emblematic. Seeing golden, holographic webs intricately made and safeguarded was stunning. They were like tiny universes encased for our scoping pleasure. I could not help but wonder whether a spider understands its magnificence. If in every web it leaves a feeling or purpose within its thread. I, suddenly, grew to admire spiders, which was Tomás Saraceno’s purpose. An artist known for his stance on climate justice and eager to make his art its ecological defender, I was deeply moved by how powerfully he took me out of myself to place me where I really belong: on earth.

Sometimes, I forget I am an animal or just another sentient, living being on earth. Between dreams and responsibilities, it hard not to feel like you are so much less and need to be much bigger. Yet, Saraceno’s second half of the installation is additive. At either 15 feet in the air, which is wheelchair accessible, and 40 feet, you lie down, in white room, over spider-webbed wire and feel motions and lights vibrate through the room to the point that you immerse yourself into a spider’s reality. It was such a gorgeous, emotional moment because I felt like I, oddly, could rest. I was, suddenly, in the spider’s perspective, and life was both dangerous and simple.

Let’s be honest… who hasn’t killed a spider? Who hasn’t smacked one down just because? Yet, for a moment, I realized how scary I must be to those creatures. When it comes to the environment and animals, humanity is a terrifying monster. We truly do not care for either because we struggle to care for ourselves. Our minds are webbed between our pasts and our futures, but things like our environment and animals live in the present. They simply are… while we live for who we could be. Click Here To Buy Tickets.For Tomás Saraceno’s: Particular Matter(s)