Black wool in a web stretched across a museum gallery floor, with white numbers sitting in random parts of it. There's a path through it for people to walk through.

Chiharu Shiota: The web of time

The web of time, an installation by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, creates the vision of a night sky studded with constellations of numbers.

See all Toi Art exhibitions
  • When | Āhea 12 Dec 2020 – 14 Nov 2021
  • Where | Ki hea Toi Art, Level 4

‘I want the viewer to reflect on their inner self, on their life – past, present, and future…’

– Chiharu Shiota

Enter a vision of the universe.

In The web of time, countless intertwined strands connect numbers across time and space.

These numbers – scattered like stars in the night sky – represent meaningful dates in history, both collective and personal.

Berlin-based artist Chiharu Shiota says, ‘Numbers comfort us. We share dates that are important to us, and they help us understand ourselves.’

The web of time is part of Te Papa’s permanent collection.

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