Araneus cavaticus

As most of spider species, Araneus cavaticus, commonly known as the barn spider, has no ears. However, in a vibrating world of its sticky, symmetrical orb web, various sounds it sends and receives become parts of an elaborate communication system. The web can be considered a material extension of the spider’s own senses.The hairs on spiders’ legs are so sensitive that they can detect human speech from several metres away. These vibration-sensing receptors detect sound even when legs are detached from the body

BEFORE
​by Ana Gnjatović

The Greek Myth of Arachne ends where Kafka's story begins. The weaver was turned into a spider by the goddess Athena after a competition, and a salesman Gregor Samsa realized he was turned into a cockroach after waking up. Whenever we turn into some kind of a spineless creature (arachnid, insect...), the worst part appears to be the fact that we remember that once we were human, and we are only partly aware that we no longer are. My idea was to gradually weave the spider web. The web is supposed to feel (sound) gentle and silky, yet at the same time a bit unpleasant. As the number of threads grow, so does the feeling of discomfort, until the web starts wrapping around us and suffocating us, like in a nightmare.

​Ana Gnjatović
www.anagnjatovic.com

AFTER
by Damian Scholl​

After waking from a nightmare the spider finds itself gently swaying in its beautiful, silky web that catches nothing but a few drops of drizzle.
As she regains full consciousness she starts to revisit moments of her dreams trying to understand what had happened.
The grim images come back to her in full force stifling her once more. They vanish like clouds after a rainspell to reveal a shy sun.
Is this the happiest she can be now?

Damian Scholl
​www.damian-scholl.de