Interview: Tomas Saraceno

Tomas Saraceno: On Water, 2006. 227 x 610 x 590 cm. Metal framework, plastic, water, light source

Tell about your work for Art Unlimited

I’m showing a foil, which is holding 800 liters of water, 2,20 meter from the floor. Actually it can contain 1600 liters of water, and maybe we will increase it during the show. But it can collapse, so now it’s just to give an idea, because the foil we’re using is very thin.

What's the idea behind it?

Basically there are some books that have inspired me, one title is Who Owns the Water?, which relates to the debate about the 3rd World War, which will become the Big Blue War, because the water will become more expensive, so it will get the role that oil and petroleum has today. And it also relates to the increasing level of the sea. It seems like we, during the years, have lost knowledge of how to deal with nature.

Is that why you deal with these topics – to put back some attention to nature?

I’m occupied by the distinction between human beings and nature, and our inabilities to incorporate nature – are we part of nature or not? 2/3 of the world’s population has been growing up in an urban environment, and therefore we are not able to interpret how this nature was before. Somehow it’s a distinction between the construction of nature and us being part of it.

Tomas Saraceno (and Søren Jensen) works at Andersen_S at Art Basel, Art Premiere

I noticed that the recent issue of Frieze Magazine is occupied by this ecological attitude towards art. Do you think there’s a new attention to ecological problems in the art world?

I have just been taking part in the Sharjah Biennial called ’STILL LIFE – Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change’ in the United Arab Emirates. It was a very interesting biennial, because they had invited artists with different attitudes and orientations regarding this issue. The Biennial’s theme concerned art as a way of creating a better understanding about our relationship with nature and the environment. So yes, I’m making a reflection about these matters, but I’m also trying not to give the same answers as others are.

Do you think that art actually has the potential to change anything?

Yes, I don’t see why not. It can maybe also change the way we ask the questions.

But is contemporary art a potential medium to reach out to common people?

I think so. I have also been thinking in real and cheap solutions about solving some of the problems of the world. I’ve been trained also as an architect, and of course this influence my way of creating art. I had an idea about constructing a roof top as a water tank to houses. You could imagine, that in stead of having a normal roof, you could incorporate a rain-watertank-collector on the top of your house. So my work has different relationships with more fields. And then I also take part in meetings at The European Space Agency, who invites me sometimes. I like different influences from different fields, and also different applications to my work, so it could get different receptions and points of view.

What would be your favorite exhibition splace?

Floating in the air...

Is that something you’re working on...?

Yes, I’m working on this long term project, which is called ’Airport City’. It’s an idea about making an interrelationship with the environment, and then be able to change the way we live. Basically it’s like a floating city 2 or 3 kilometers above the ground level. My reference point is the clouds, and when I look at them, I imagine them being cities that change their shapes from time to time. And then there would be a pool in top of the flying city, who could select water from the clouds. So it goes in this flying art direction...

Do you see yourself as an optimist or a pessimist?

Optimist •