Ernesto Neto: From Sebastian to Olivia

by Ernesto Neto (Artist)

With the complex installation From Sebastian to Olivia, Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto presents an artistic vision of organic relations. As the title suggests, this is a world of compressed spaces, originating from the knowledge that two people can share a room and still be cut off from one another by its architecture--unable to come into contact or communicate. Structurally, the work illustrates the isolation and loneliness of two spheres, male and female, while indicating that contact could become possible. “I am sculpture and think as sculpture,” says Neto, describing his perception that sculpture is a living organism and knows no bounds. In addition to subtle lighting direction and the use of scents, the artist employs stairways, a viewing platform, a swing, stools, free-standing sculptural works, spice drawings and wall sculpture to demonstrate this blurring of boundaries. Here, spatial and sensual layers are linked to recreate a world of organic membranes.