One to three days: that’s how long it takes a silkworm to produce its one kilometer of silk. The silk pavilion on display in the ground-floor gallery at MoMA took the work of 17,000 silkworms — in collaboration with a robotic arm, and a team of researchers at MIT.
The hyperboloid-shaped pavilion is larger than the sum of its parts, however; it’s representative of the philosophy driving Neri Oxman’s work, on view in a solo exhibition, “Material Ecology,” opening Feb. 22.
As founder and director of the Mediated Matter Group at the MIT Media Lab, Oxman (who also happens to be married to Bill Ackman) works at the intersection of technology, biology and culture. At MoMA, the art perspective is at the forefront, but through projected process videos and displays of completed works and experiments Oxman showcases how the discipline of material ecology can be practically applied in different contexts.
“Material ecology basically aims to place material things that are artificially made, that are designed, in the context of natural ecology,” Oxman said during an intimate preview of the exhibition. “And the hope is that in the future we will design with natural ecology in mind, such that all things material will be

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