Beneath the monolithic stone ceiling of Munich’s Haus der Kunst, an unexpected quietude yields to a vibrant, living ecosystem. Dust motes shimmer in shafts of light; air swells inside vast, patchwork membranes of recycled plastic; and underfoot, mountains of salt crystals crunch with every step.

In Tomás Saraceno in collaboration: Ancestral Futures, the Argentinian-born artist transforms the museum from a repository of dead objects into a breathing, webbed sanctuary. Known for visionary projects like the Aerocene Foundation—which launched fossil-fuel-free aerosolar sculptures into the sky, setting 32 world records—Saraceno has long blurred the line between artistic intervention and eco-social activism.

Here, his vision expands into pluralistic horizons, asking audiences to listen not only to human voices, but to the whispers of air, the vibrations of arachnids, and the ancient memory of endangered waters.

Sensory Webworks: Vibrating in Multispecies Harmony

At the core of Saraceno’s practice lies an obsession with the overlooked architecture of the natural world—most notably, spiderwebs. Where others see household nuisance, Saraceno finds complex, non-human intelligence and intricate communication networks.

This research culminates physically in Algo-r(h)i(y)thms (2019), a monumental sensory maze of suspended black ropes traversing the gallery space. The installation functions as an interactive musical instrument tuned to arachnid acoustics:
Tactile Exploration: Visitors hop, crawl, and maneuver through dark, intersecting lines, breaking the traditional museum rule of static distance.

Acoustic Feedback: Plucking or pinging a rope sends low, resonant frequencies thrumming through the air and into the body, simulating how spiders navigate their silk worlds without sight.

Collective Presence: As multiple guests interact simultaneously, individual gestures merge into a unpredictable, shared soundscape.

The Sanctuary of Water: Resistance and Refraction

While air and webs form Saraceno’s historic framework, Ancestral Futures places critical emphasis on liquid life. The centerpiece of the exhibition, Towards the Sanctuary of Water (2025), converts the central hall into a shimmering matrix of light, mirrors, moving water, and dancing shadows.

The piece emerges directly from Saraceno’s fifteen-year collaboration with the Indigenous communities of Red Atacama and Las Salinas Grandes in Northern Argentina. These communities face catastrophic groundwater depletion caused by multinational lithium extraction—a toxic cost of green technology often hidden from global consumers.

The community have been trying to strongly convey the message, telling me for almost 15 years, ‘all you do for the air is wonderful, but watch the water… focus on what is really important. Without water, nobody can live.

— Tomás Saraceno

By weaving pools of water and salt landscapes directly into the museum floor, the installation brings the crisis of the Argentine salt flats into sharp, tactile focus. The land art project El Santuario del Agua (The Sanctuary of Water) stands as both a physical refuge in Argentina and a political call to arms inside the gallery.

The Radical Power of Play

In an art world often weighed down by cynical doom-mongering, Saraceno insists on joy as a vital tool for environmental resistance. Adults, children, and even dogs roam the sprawling galleries, engaging directly with salt, air, and sound.

By framing critical ecological survival through playful exploration, Saraceno reminds us that learning requires curiosity. Ancestral Futures leaves visitors with an unmistakable realization: we are not isolated observers standing outside nature, but active strands knotted tightly within its fragile, beautiful web.

Tomás Saraceno in collaboration: Ancestral Futures is on view at Haus der Kunst, Munich, through February 7, 2027.