Woven Water: Submarine Landscape, 1994, by Colombian-born, currently Australia-based, María Fernanda Cardoso is composed of 26 clusters of dried, preserved starfish suspended in constellations installed in various groupings of similar size and color. The starfish are strung together point-to-point with metal wire to form oversized, geometric shapes that pull the viewers in for closer inspection. They appear as drawings in space that cast fragmented shadows on the floors, walls, and on the other clusters themselves, while light shifts through the negative spaces in the work of art. This juxtaposition of negative and positive space creates a sense of darkness and mystery within the delicate net of objects.
This is not the typical arrangement of specimens that are more commonly seen in a science museum or a zoo. The installation creates an environment of a thriving and enigmatic undersea world. Some clusters suggest invisible ocean currents while others appear to be opening and closing as if in a choreographed dance. However, the arrangement is entirely unnatural. The starfish were once alive, but it is only through their death that Cardoso can create these delicate forms. The scale, intricacy and oddity of the sculptures draw viewers into the work. Once close, they realize the “beauty” within the work actually stems from their death.
Woven Water: Submarine Landscape emphasizes contrasts between the natural and the geometric form as well as between motion and stasis. Throughout her career, Cardoso has increasingly explored the intersection of art and science. Her work is influenced by research into the fractal theory as a natural phenomenon that is based on patterns that repeat at every scale. In her sculptures, Cardoso references this theory and nature’s ability to create complex forms from simple rules of a cellular-like growth pattern.
Throughout her career, Cardoso has experimented with creating abstract objects from organic and nontraditional materials such as gourds, dirt, bones, and shells as well as preserved insects, frogs, reptiles, and other marine life. She prefers to work with local materials drawn from the specific sites where she will install her sculptures. Since Woven Water: Submarine Landscape was created during an artist’s residency in San Francisco, the artist purchased the starfish at a local souvenir shop. She states, “Starfish formations will remind us of strange flowers from enchanted gardens, from those we used to visit in fairy tales, when we were little.” Additionally, the intense smell of objects themselves evoked memories of algae and decaying ports.
While Cardoso invites the visitors into her mysterious, undersea setting, the work of art is also a critique of the commodification of nature. The fact that the objects that form the sculpture are purchased from an industry that monetarily benefits off the capture, slaughter and sale of the starfish provides a biting critique of the commercial tourism industry. In fact, the starfish she bought at the San Francisco tourist shop were imported from Asia, adding an additional layer to the critique of global consumerism.
Through this work of art, Cardoso uses the starfish and the mysterious forms they create to heighten the viewer’s awareness of the critical factors that shape their everyday experiences and environments. By examining society’s impact on nature, she addresses the notion that nature is consistently challenged by human interception and alterations. The viewer’s discomfort is a symptom of a deeper anxiety about humankind’s impact on the environment. The contradiction of a water scene without water becomes evermore impactful.
