Tomás Saraceno's Flying Gardens at Palazzo Strozzi: Arachnomancy and Tillandsia
Tomás Saraceno's exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence centers on the installation Flying Gardens, a series of glass biospheres containing Tillandsia plants, also known as 'daughters of the air.' These epiphytic plants lack underground roots and absorb moisture and pollutants through trichomes, purifying the air. The installation is suspended by steel cables and knotted ropes evoking spider webs, which Saraceno scans and reconstructs to explore interspecies communication. The exhibition uses nine of thirty-three arachnomancy cards, a divination practice borrowed from the Mambila people of Cameroon, as narrative tools. Saraceno's work, first presented in 2007 at the Lyon Biennale, later at Andersen's Contemporary in Copenhagen (2010) and Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin (2011), draws inspiration from 1960s utopian architecture and Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. The artist advocates for ecosystems as networks of reciprocity, urging a shift from individuality to interdependence. The exhibition includes a text by Roberta Vanali.
Key facts
- Tomás Saraceno's exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence features the installation Flying Gardens.
- Flying Gardens consists of glass biospheres containing Tillandsia plants.
- Tillandsia, or 'daughters of the air,' are tropical plants without underground roots that absorb moisture and pollutants through trichomes.
- The installation is suspended by steel cables and knotted ropes resembling spider webs.
- Saraceno uses arachnomancy cards, a divination practice from the Mambila people of Cameroon, as narrative tools.
- Nine of the thirty-three cards are used to create interconnected universes in the exhibition.
- Flying Gardens was first presented in 2007 at the Lyon Biennale.
- The installation was also shown in 2010 at Andersen's Contemporary in Copenhagen and in 2011 at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin.
- Saraceno's work is inspired by 1960s utopian architecture and Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities.
- The artist emphasizes ecosystems as networks of reciprocity and interdependence.
Entities
Artists
- Tomás Saraceno
- Roberta Vanali
- Italo Calvino
Institutions
- Palazzo Strozzi
- Biennale de Lyon
- Andersen's Contemporary
- Hamburger Bahnhof
- Pirelli HangarBicocca
- Artribune
Locations
- Florence
- Italy
- Lyon
- France
- Copenhagen
- Denmark
- Berlin
- Germany
- Milan
- Cameroon