explore the largest crochet work by artist ernesto neto at museum of fine arts, houston

the museum of fine arts, houston, presents one of ernesto neto’s largest crochet works to date. on view through sunday, september 26, 2021, and titled ernesto neto: SunForceOceanLife, the large-scale installation is a colossal spiraling structure that highlights the cyclical relationship between the sun and the sea to produce life on earth. the immersive piece has been installed inside the cullian hall, filling it with yellow, orange, and green materials that have been hand-woven and suspended in a spiral formation.

images by albert sanchez & tom dubrock via MFA houston instagram account

at nearly 30 feet x 79 feet x 55 feet, ernesto neto: SunForceOceanLife has been suspended from the ceiling and welcomes visitors into a spiral formation featuring a myriad of patterns. as visitors enter, they are guided through a path where each crocheted section is filled with plastic balls that force them to focus on their inner balance and stability. the labyrinth invites people to explore while suspended 12 feet in the air.

‘SunForceOceanLife is about fire, the vital energy that enables life on this planet,’ said artist ernesto neto. ‘every time we complete one crocheted spiral with the polymer string used in this work, we burn both ends with fire in a gesture that evokes meditation, prayer, and other sacred rituals. I hope that the experience of this work will feel like a chant made in gratitude to the gigantic ball of fire we call the sun, a gesture of thanks for the energy, truth, and power that it shares with us as it touches our land, our oceans, and our life.’

‘SunForceOceanLife also unites the disciplines of art and culture with biology and cosmology; it directly engages the body as does a joyful dance or meditation, inviting us to relax, breathe, and uncouple our body from our conscious mind,’ the artist continues. ‘the sensation of floating, the body cradled by the crocheted fruits of our labor, brings to mind a hammock: the quintessential indigenous invention that uplifts us and connects us to the wisdom and traditions of our ancestors.’