In the Age of the Capitalocene Reading Tomás Saraceno's Hybrid Webs as Anti-Colonial Discourse: An Evaluation of Eco-Marxist Approaches

Abstract

This study is conceived as an anti-colonial reading of the artist Tom & aacute;s Saraceno's work Hybrid Webs, made with spider webs. It can be said that the concept of colonialism is still relevant today, and with late capitalism, it continues to exploit cheap labour and seize the green spaces of other countries. The economic dependence of these colonised peoples on colonial countries clearly shows that the class domination of man over man has not changed since the 15th century. Moreover, environmental disasters such as the climate crisis caused by modern colonialism itself expose 'climate injustice'. It has become important to raise awareness of both individual and collective behaviour against the observably increasing climate injustice. Saraceno presents a new model of the universe to the audience with the webs he builds with spiders in his workshop. This new model opens the production system based on today's capitalist division of labour and the environmental pollution caused by industrial productivity to discussion, while the spiders' cooperative behaviour emphasises the need to re-evaluate the socio-cultural relations of societies. For a deeper understanding of the subject, various qualitative research methods were used in the study. As a result of the observations, it is clear that the growth principle of the capitalist class needs to change. Just as in the Hybrid Webs sculpture, social and anti-social spiders weave webs in a common space, reforms are needed to make life better for everyone. Hybrid Webs promises the viewer the possibility of an organised life living in harmony with the environment.