Saturday 25 October 2008, 10.00–18.00

On 25 October 2008, Tate Modern will be home to the construction of Malhas da Liberdade / Meshes of Freedom, the largest version of Cildo Meireles' homonymous sculpture to date.

The artist made the first version of the piece in 1976, drawing inspiration from a childhood doodle, an organic structure built from connected short lines. The fundamental principle of the drawing is that a module or unit when connected to others by the middle creates an open grid, a mesh…of freedom.

Like in most of Meireles' works, the idea of modular connection in Malhas da Liberdade comes from mathematics and literature, in particular from J.L. Borges' 'The garden of Forking Paths'. The original doodle was first translated into a sculptural form in 1976, when the artist commissioned a soft version made of cotton threads to a fisherman from the coastal region of Maranhão. The second version of Malhas was made in paper, and the third one, a metal mesh, was presented at the Paris Biennial in 1977. Both the cotton thread and the metal versions are exhibited at Tate Modern.

Cildo Meireles Malhas da Liberdade III (Meshes of Freedom III) 1977 Photo: Courtesy of the artist / Regina Bittencourt

During the month preceding the performance, three plastic units and a card with instructions will be posted to thousands of Londoners. On the day, the creation of the piece will begin, when medium to giant versions of this forth incarnation of Meshes of Freedom, a social sculpture - or many open grids for freedom – will be made by people.

Tate Modern  Turbine Hall Bridge
 

This event is related to the Cildo Meireles exhibition