Ernesto Neto's giant snake bewitches Le Bon Marché

What if the serpent of Genesis was not an evil tempter but rather the being thanks to whom humanity was able to be born? This is the idea that Ernesto Neto defends in “Le La Serpent”, the 10th January exhibition at the Bon Marché Rive Gauche (Paris, 7th arrondissement). After Ai Weiwei, Prune Nourry and Daniel Buren, the department store welcomes the monumental and immersive works of the Brazilian artist. With the color white as a common thread, Ernesto Neto revisits the biblical myth of Adam and Eve in a version that offers a new perspective on the creation of life. A few days after the opening of the exhibition, “ Knowledge of the Arts » met the artist.

Can you introduce us to the exhibition?

This exhibition is based on the myth of Adam and Eve following the hypothesis that if the serpent had not spoken with Eve and she had not shared the forbidden fruit with Adam, both would have remained in paradise. We wouldn't be here today, neither you, nor me, nor art, nor museums, nor Le Bon Marché…? My work on the myth of Adam and Eve began ten years ago. I was talking with my wife Lili and I didn't understand why the snake was the demon of sin. For natives and some peoples, it represents total spiritual connection. For me, the serpent is the mother and father, the deity who gave life to humanity.

To illustrate this interpretation, I created a sculpture in the two atriums of the Bon Marché which represents Eve and another Adam. Between these two figures is the snake which has the shape of the symbol of infinity. The moment Eve and Adam bite into the apple, it marks the beginning of humanity in the origin myth of Western society. The serpent is white in color to represent the divine being, before the birth of materiality and knowledge. Also, as this animal is associated with the representation of DNA, the structure of life, Eve and Adam form the serpent of life. The fabrics used for Adam, Eve and the serpent are very light and very thin, almost transparent, to fluctuate the energy of the structure and the body.

Can you tell us about the immersive work you installed on the 2nd floor?

In addition to the works hanging in the atriums, I created Before timewhich symbolizes the tree of life. It is also white to show that it dates from before the birth of time and material reality, since it is not a color. The sculpture is made of cotton with paper, which represents artificiality, and leaves, for nature. The tree is made of cotton mesh fabric, warmer and cosier. The tree also features plastic bottle caps which reproduce the sound of the snake when they collide.

The tree of life in the work Avant le temps by Ernesto Neto at Bon Marché Rive Gauche ©Connaissance des Arts/Agathe Hakoun

On the walls, the public can draw on blackboards, to evoke the beginning of culture, representations and language. Finally, a song gives a breath of life, enchantment, beauty and love to the whole. As a counterbalance, a smell of turmeric, cloves and ginger hypnotizes us to evoke the force of nature and the fruit that is life for humanity and to create a spatial atmosphere. Using the olfactory system, music highlights the importance of nature. There is no difference or separation between nature and culture.

Detail of visitors' drawings in the work Avant le temps by Ernesto Neto at the Bon Marché Rive Gauche ©Connaissance des Arts/Agathe Hakoun

How did this collaboration with Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche come about?

When Le Bon Marché contacted me through my gallery, I was not available to do the exhibition. Later, Frédéric Bodenes (artistic director of Le Bon Marché, Editor’s note) told me he wanted to come to Rio de Janeiro to talk. We met in my studio where he introduced me to Le Bon Marché and showed me photos of the place and the exhibitions.

Two days later, I was walking on the sand of the beach in Rio. I was reluctant, it wasn't natural for me to do an exhibition in a store. Suddenly, I visualized Eve in one atrium, Adam in the other and the serpent in the form of the symbol of infinity between the two. That was the trigger. I came for the opening of the Buren exhibition, last January, to discover Le Bon Marché for the first time. We talked a lot with the teams. During lunch, Frédéric Bodenes even confided to me: “ At each invitation, I always asked to avoid touching on political, sexual and religious subjects. And you touch all three “. There were some negotiations but I am very happy with the result.

View of the exhibition “Le La Serpent” by Ernesto Neto at the Bon Marché Rive Gauche ©Connaissance des Arts/Agathe Hakoun

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Did you draw inspiration from the architecture of Le Bon Marché to create the exhibition?

It was not the architecture strictly speaking but the spatial structure of the place that inspired me. The two atriums with the snake crossing the escalators… That's where I saw the message: Eve's domain on one side and Adam's on the other, like Yin and Yang.

Why should you come and see this exhibition?

I would like to raise awareness. The serpent goes beyond good and evil. He is life, nature. This change in the understanding of the original mythology is important for us to become aware of our disconnection with nature. For me this is a big problem because we are nature. It is inside us and we live totally in symbiosis with it.

In the Doge's Palace in Venice, there is an image of Adam and Eve where the tree is connected to the genitals, like umbilical cords or fallopian tubes. The snake lives with the tree, it is the DNA which links the masculine to the feminine, and makes the link between the underworld and the ultraworld. He is a deity or protagonist of life in many ancestral stories. In the catalog, we devoted an entire section to the representation of the snake in the different cultures of all continents.

Visitors can stroll through Ernesto Neto's tree of life at the Bon Marché Rive Gauche ©Connaissance des Arts/Agathe Hakoun

How do you hope the public will interact with the exhibition?

With love. I hope it will connect with sculptures, arts and history. I think love is the key word for touching things. When the serpent speaks to Eve, it is a love song. When Eve takes Adam's hand to leave paradise, it is with love.

You were present during the first days of the exhibition's opening. What were the first reactions from the public?

I felt the love was there. In people's noses and hands. There is a situation of enchantment. It is an important moment for our inner transformation, our body, our heart and our history. These are the three points that I work on in my work.

The works presented in the exhibition are mainly composed of fabric. Do you consider yourself more of a textile artist or a visual artist?

I do sculpture and contemporary art. I didn't study textile art, I don't think of myself in those terms. I work with gravitational sculpture. I talk about the relationships and the counterweights to make the body of the sculpture, as Michelangelo, Rodin, Brancusi did before me. I want to make connections with ancient, classical, Aztec, Mayan, Oriental, Buddhist sculpture… It's important to me.

Front of the Bon Marché Rive Gauche with the Ernesto Neto exhibition. ©Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

What cultural references do you associate, or not, in your work?

I not only focus on my culture but my culture is totally anchored in me. I exude my culture. We Brazilians are a people of mixtures. Many stories, arts and sculptures from all temporalities mingle.

Do you have any other plans for future exhibitions?

I am currently in contact with the Grand Palais regarding a new exhibition as part of the 2025 Brazil-France crossover season. The sculptures I made in Lisbon in “Nosso Barco Tambor Terra” (Our land drum boat in French, Editor’s note) will come to sail a little in Paris, under the immense nave, from June to August 2025. From June 8 to September 25, I will also participate in the third edition of the Helsinki Biennale (Finland), curated by Blanca de la Torre and Kati Kivinen.
Ernesto Neto – Our Boat Tambor Terra. Interview