Big Bambú, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Towering in spikes and shards above the Jerusalem skyline, is the Starn brother’s structrual installation Big Bambú. With a team of 25 rockclimbers, the sculpture was put up in seven weeks using 10, 000 bamboo poles and 80, 000 metres of climbing rope. The structure looks unwelcoming and a little unsafe but as is the nature of bamboo, the softness of the wood lends itself to careful and flexible construction and results in a natural climbing frame. The wood and the rope are interdependent, the structure itself has come together by way of people using natural materials to work together, to lean together and create a strange and abstract haven at the Art Garden at Israel Museum in Jerusalem. As people enter the structure, the bamboo adapts to the changing weights of its visitors and leans further on the other materials around it; it is no surprise that an artist duo of identical twins focus their work hugely on leaning and coexistence. The work is all emcompassing as the lines of bamboo envelope and overwhelm you as you crawl through its maze.

The bamboo installation is open June 16 – October 1, 2014. Location: Art Garden, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. For more details.

Post by Francesca Kletz.