Laura Lima has woven and knotted together hundreds of blue and white ropes of varying densities, creating a chaotic and dense piece that hangs three-dimensionally in the gallery. Titled Leviatã (Leviathan) it references the 1651 publication by the British philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), the full title of which is Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil. Written during the English Civil War, this treatise addresses the structure of society and legitimate government, arguing that humans are inherently selfish and to avoid warring amongst one another, need a social contract involving the rule of an absolute sovereign. Lima’s hanging tapestry was produced in Brazil during the presidency of Jair Messias Bolsonaro (2019-2022), whose strong rule dramatically divided the country. This context and its title’s reference to Hobbes’ early articulation of “social contract theory,” tie Lima’s textile to contemporary political questions.