Navedenga 1998

This amorphous form by Ernesto Neto, entitled Navedenga, is made from a translucent white fabric. It reminds me of when I was a kid and used to play with a parachute with my school friends. Here, gravity becomes a collaborator, pulling and stretching the material in unexpected ways. Look at how the fabric hangs, suspended from the ceiling like an enormous jellyfish, its tentacles grazing the floor. It’s as if Neto wanted to create a space that feels like being inside a lung or a womb. I imagine the artist, Neto, carefully considering each stitch, each seam, each point of suspension, as he coaxes the material into its final form. I can almost feel the tension in the fabric, the push and pull between structure and surrender. It reminds me that art isn’t just about what we see, but about how we feel, how we move, and how we connect with the world around us. Neto’s work has an element of playfulness and the unexpected, inviting us to reconsider our understanding of space, form, and the very act of perception.