Sewing courses
As we know from the Greek mythology, Apollo is not only a frivolous, golden-haired young patron of the arts but also a healing god. In brief, Jack-of-all-trades.
So what should mere mortals do? That's right: take an example from the Olympians and not settle for less. And for this you need to join different structures with people very much unlike you and make every effort to achieve synergy and omnipotence.
And even the era is very appropriate for this – there are virtually no boundaries between mad flash mobs and everyday life, between science and art, between professionals and amateurs. Doctors and artists are indeed engaged in similar things – they both patch all sorts of holes of physical or metaphysical nature.
In this project, the artist Maria Arendt whose ancestors were famous doctors and the renowned cardiac surgeon Mikhail Alshibaya represent their collaborative works. One can say that a doctor died in Maria and an artist – in Mikhail. But in reality, of course, this is not about death, but about certain anabiosis. And it is time to awaken these dormant talents and to swap roles for a little bit.
If you look at how the heart works, it becomes clear that it is a perfect mechanism like Perpetuum Mobile designed to ensure the maximum life span of the organism which suggests of Creator's good knowledge of the laws of mechanics and biomechanics.
In the mythologies of many different countries the emotional sphere primarily refers to the heart – the heart “yearns”, “worries”, “isn't in it”, “is in one's mouth” and “gives a leap”. Thinking about these features of the heart work, you will inevitably come to the age-old futurological question reflected in many literary stories and movies – the question of whether the mechanism is able to feel and where this can lead to.
The very existence of art depends on the artists' heart performance. For many years Maria Arendt has been treating people, cutting, sewing and patching many hearts, including hearts of artists, and thus, with her profession she helps art to survive practically and metaphysically (the category of “life” itself refers to the practice as well as to the metaphysics). And as a collector and connoisseur of art, buying works from their authors, she helps art to survive in practical sense.
In this joint project with Maria Arendt, Mikhail Alshibaya left barely visible stitches and traces of his presence in contemporary art.
These days we can witness technology in any process, one way or another. The materials used in the artistic process, have been produced by someone, not to mention a great number of participants in operations and countless medical technologies. Indian embroiderers were involved in Maria and Mikhail's project. In this project, the rise to the meta-level and historical horizons is absolutely justified – the hearts beat in unison at all times.
Mikhail Alshibaya, Arina Grantseva
