‘Aeroponic’ – root systems nourished by air – Acts is the name given to the nomadic Dutch Art Institute’s final Kitchen presentations. Each participant addresses one question, as a practice of engagement.

Here you will find the documentation of Gleb Maiboroda's presentation as filmed by Baha Görkem Yalım. The written report is by Giulia Crispiani and it includes a summary of the comments by esteemed guest respondents.

The Weaver’s Handshake:

Gleb's question: How to untangle the unspoken?

Gleb's introduction: Amidst the post-industrial modernity, where time seems to compress, and productivity takes center stage, the fabric people remain faithful in their commitment to craftsmanship. They find beauty in the rhythmic dance of threads and the delicate interplay of colours. For them, the essence of their labor transcends mere numbers and measurements. It is a testament to their creativity, skill, and the profound connection they share with the art of living. And they, the fabric people, possess a peculiar tendency to pet and cherish every textile they encounter. Their touch becomes a form of communication, a silent exchange of appreciation for the intricacies and stories woven into each piece of cloth. Though familiar with one another, they remain ever curious, continuously contemplating how things could be done differently, pushing the boundaries of their craft. They reach out, tenderly caress, weigh, tap, envelop, and stretch, striving to truly understand both their fellow artisans and the forces that have brought them together.

Giulia's report: On the outside stage, six performers are divided in couples, facing each other holding together a roll of paper, begin to unwrap it slowly—it’s not paper it’s a handwoven textile approx. ten-fifteen centimeters thick, 4mt long. They are reading some poetry. There’s a metronome ticking. One of the two performers is pulling very slowly the other one is letting go, then the fabric is held tight and the holders start to walk in circles, changing their angle, then tie the three pieces together. Slowly the space changes according to their movements and intersections. The first person begins to walk up the stairs, the others follow slowly. Audience stands up and move, begins to follow as well. A procession begins to shape behind the fabric line. Upstairs the lines keep moving and the metronome ticking, a video of hands and glass ball full of water, with some tight lycra fabric around it, a soundtrack begins to play, and performers—the lines cross each other and overlap, having to negotiate positions to walk around the audience, and then creating figures, in some improvised choreography of sort. Eventually the performers find some linear space to stretch out the fabric on the ground and link it together by its ends, then stand up again and walk around recalling some Matissian dance, always connected by the long textile. I can’t tell when the metronome stopped ticking. Now the three pieces became one that at times caresses the audience delicately, then slowly get at the center of the space in one straight line, held by six people, the audience moves to allow them to gently put it down, covering the whole length of the room.

Phanuel Antwi Your question, what does it mean to untangle and to be disentangled—we have this fabric, this yarn—to untangle is to loose, the unspoken is what is felt but not told, how do we lose ourselves from this messy thing that we know? The metronome is amazing in a level of the senses, it touches us, we become hypnotized by it visually, and on the level of sound. You are doing the thing that you’re asking. Tangling is the most annoying thing when working with this material, but it’s happening in front of our eyes, and the unspoken is unfolding in front of us—the history of labour of textile. 

Ayesha Hameed You started off and we were in the aftermath of it for the entire duration, we are in the decay of language. I heard the metronome but I didn’t see it, I was thinking a lot about time. I think of Walter Benjamin’s The Storyteller, and the weavers of time. Weaving and a wave this cloth wove, a very gentle wave that wove and unwoven the room. Different verticalities, and the way the textile held this, gave weight to this protagonism of sound, in the way they interacted. The way I am holded and woven, I find really striking. 

Francesco Urbano Ragazzi I saw this as an architectural piece, this line became a unity of measurement for this community, in an entanglement of people, through finding ways to deal with this fabric, whilst the architecture is intended as inhabiting. 

There’s a legacy of ritual in the cloth, it was like being in a fashion show but you’re exhibiting the basic labour of fashion. The sound dimension you were able to create was quiet and hypnotizing. I thought of MDI techniques to cure trauma, and I wanted to know more about it, if you worked with specific frequencies and so on. 

Gleb Maiboroda's "The Weaver’s Handshake" was presented before live audience at the Centrale Fies, Dro, Italy on July 28th.

Find the overview of all 19 AEROPONIC ACTS 2023 here: WHERE THE MOON IS UP 

In italiano: 

TITOLO: La stretta di mano del tessitore:

DOMANDA: Come districare il non detto?

In mezzo alla modernità post-industriale, dove il tempo sembra comprimersi e la produttività è al centro dell'attenzione, il popolo dei tessuti rimane fedele al suo impegno per l'artigianato. Trovano la bellezza nella danza ritmica dei fili e nel delicato gioco dei colori. Per loro, l'essenza del loro lavoro trascende i meri numeri e le misure. È una testimonianza della loro creatività, della loro abilità e del profondo legame che condividono con l'arte di vivere. E loro, le persone del tessuto, hanno una tendenza particolare ad accarezzare e a custodire ogni tessuto che incontrano. Il loro tocco diventa una forma di comunicazione, uno scambio silenzioso di apprezzamento per le complessità e le storie intessute in ogni pezzo di stoffa. Pur conoscendosi a vicenda, rimangono sempre curiosi, contemplando continuamente come le cose potrebbero essere fatte in modo diverso, spingendo i confini del loro mestiere. Si tendono la mano, accarezzano teneramente, pesano, toccano, avvolgono e allungano, cercando di capire veramente sia i loro colleghi artigiani sia le forze che li hanno uniti.