'Spider Silk', a Group Show at A.D., New York

The tensile strength of spider silk is questionable. As with anything, there are myths surrounding the integrity of its material structure. What we do know is that it’s made by spiders and serves a number of purposes. It is meant to build webs, to catch prey, to make nests, and in desperate times it can be consumed. Unlike silkworm’s fibers, spider silk cannot be farmed. Attempts to farm silk from spiders by force have rendered fruitless results; as spiders are not communal creatures. 

Their emissions are an integral byproduct of their existence. Within their bodies are all the tools they need to be self-sustained. Their silk is meticulous craft, and it is their home, and it feeds them, and it encases and protects their young. Their silk can suspend them, indefinitely, allowing them to defy gravity and travel on the slightest breeze.