Text: Filipa Oliveira

The Dutch artist Tanja Smeets makes large-scale installations that depart from her research into the growth processes of different plant species and her attempts to radically test the limits and possibilities of textiles and ceramics. At the Seu d’Ègara, her fungi-like installation weaves and knots itself into the visually and historically charged site – itself an amalgamation of eras, styles and functions. It does so to such an extent that it becomes difficult to distinguish between her work and the heritage site, where the layers of time have become inextricably linked. Presented at this monumental church complex, The Life in Between also speaks to how we, humans, must care for nature, seeking harmonious solutions for sharing the planet with all the other species that inhabit it rather than treating them with hostility.

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