Stockholm Warsaw
Chopin's Heart
Chopin's Heart is a temporary retreat for melancholics. Chopin’s Heart work under the assumption that most of us suffer from melancholia, which is a basic human condition and should be respected as such. The aim of Chopin’s Heart is to offer the visitor a retreat from everyday life, away from the gaze of loved ones and family, where she can handle her nameless sorrows - for which there seldom is any comfort - and ease the suffering of suffering. Each visitor makes a personal appointment. In addition to time and a place to rest, each visitor is entitled to a number of activities such as “Choir in the dark”, “Letter of conscience” or “Mallorca – as it should have been”. In these spaces the visitor is able to reflect on the impermanence of existence and to face the despair it may cause.
Chopin’s Heart is inspired by the life of Frédéric Chopin, his lifelong illness, his relationships and his mystery-enshrouded death, and also Poste Restantes meeting with palliative care. The intention of the shelter is to provide a space where visitors, just like Chopin, can be melancholic without feeling shame or be exposed to the surrounding world’s demands for successful recovery. At Chopin’s Heart there is no cure for life’s suffering; the only thing the staff can offer is space to breathe, rehabilitation and alleviation. At Chopin’s Heart all care is purely professional. The length of the installations opening hours has ranged from 7 to 14 hours. An individual visit is about 2,5 hours long.
Chopin's Heart was commissioned by Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw and co-produced by Propaganda Foundation, MAP – Mobile Art Productions and the Polish Institute (Stockholm). At its première, the performance was called Azyl Fryderyk.
Chopin's Heart is a temporary retreat for melancholics. Chopin’s Heart work under the assumption that most of us suffer from melancholia, which is a basic human condition and should be respected as such. The aim of Chopin’s Heart is to offer the visitor a retreat from everyday life, away from the gaze of loved ones and family, where she can handle her nameless sorrows - for which there seldom is any comfort - and ease the suffering of suffering. Each visitor makes a personal appointment. In addition to time and a place to rest, each visitor is entitled to a number of activities such as “Choir in the dark”, “Letter of conscience” or “Mallorca – as it should have been”. In these spaces the visitor is able to reflect on the impermanence of existence and to face the despair it may cause.
Chopin’s Heart is inspired by the life of Frédéric Chopin, his lifelong illness, his relationships and his mystery-enshrouded death, and also Poste Restantes meeting with palliative care. The intention of the shelter is to provide a space where visitors, just like Chopin, can be melancholic without feeling shame or be exposed to the surrounding world’s demands for successful recovery. At Chopin’s Heart there is no cure for life’s suffering; the only thing the staff can offer is space to breathe, rehabilitation and alleviation. At Chopin’s Heart all care is purely professional. The length of the installations opening hours has ranged from 7 to 14 hours. An individual visit is about 2,5 hours long.
Chopin's Heart was commissioned by Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw and co-produced by Propaganda Foundation, MAP – Mobile Art Productions and the Polish Institute (Stockholm). At its première, the performance was called Azyl Fryderyk.