Ernesto Neto: Nosso Barco Tambor Terra (Our Boat Drum Earth): Grand Palais, Paris

As part of the Brazil-France 2025 cultural season, Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto presents the exhibition Nosso Barco Tambor Terra (Our Boat Drum Earth) at the Nef of the Grand Palais from June 5 to July 25, 2025. The artist transforms the immersive and sensory space with a monumental installation made of crochet, bark, and spices. Designed to be walked through and inhabited, this multi-sensory environment manifests a fundamental relationship with nature and explores the continuity between our own bodies and those of the Earth through handcrafting, organic materials, and ancestral techniques of creation. The work is inspired by the profound impact of sailing and navigation of the world, which has changed the relationships between people and places across the globe.

Ernesto Neto transforms the images and symbols associated with these stories into a collective and ritualistic communion with his porous, crocheted architecture. The sculpture incorporates a wide range of instruments from around the world, with periodic activations during which the viewer is invited to enter and play the drums hidden within. By uniting cultural differences, the artist poetically evokes the possibility of universal communication through pulses and rhythms.

Around the installation, a varied program extends the experience: concerts, workshops, and tours invite young and old viewers alike to explore themes dear to the artist, ranging from music, textiles, Brazilian history, and climate issues.

Images: Ernesto Neto, Nosso Barco Tambor Terra (Our Boat Drum Earth),Grand Palais, Paris, 2025. © GrandPalaisRmn 2025 / Photo Didier Plowy