Award-winning Middle Eastern visual artist Farshido launches a nine-piece collection entitled "Everything is Up in the Air" which are all made out of scrap musical instruments and currently being displayed at the Theater am Spittelberg in Austria.
"My friend called me and told me that he is moving to a new apartment and he’s not able to take his old giant piano with himself." Farshido said. His friend suggested that he might disassemble the piano and if that happens, he will need Farshido’s help to move the piano pieces to the dumpster. "I said no! I have to take the pieces to my studio, and that is the start of my junk musical instruments art installation project!"
This unique installation is hanging on the stage, which is located at the center of the room. There are 9 instruments that were used in this installation. Farshido aims to keep the original aesthetic of the instruments and only challenges the space that they exist in. For instance, the piano that he used in this piece is placed in the exact same way as if it is about to be assembled again, meaning that he only spaced out the area between each fragment of the piano. This rule applies to all the parts of this installation. Every component of this artwork is hanging by transparent threads.
"‘Being up in the air’ is a metaphorical approach for me to speak about the uncertain situation that our world is going through. I want to inspire more young artists to see art despite the global uncertainties due to the pandemic which we are all experiencing right now. Let this be their fuel to create more art for the world to see." said Farshido
Additionally, the transparent threads have another function that contributes to Farshido’s piece even more: "Now that all these instruments lost their functionality due to the uncertainty that is ruling the space, the threads are here to support them making sounds again."
The threads are not the only transparent components of this installation. When you look at the art pieces, you will realize that there are authentic Austrian crystal beads hanging from the instruments. The crystal beads represent a frozen forgotten nostalgia that is brought to life; Farshido is visualizing the notes emitted from the instruments once.
"I had been collecting the Austrian crystal beads for so long. They all are playing roles as forgotten notes in this installation." he added
The material that is used in this installation is a phenomenal aspect of this piece. The old broken instruments match the space visually and conceptually; the instruments and the space share the muted warm colors.
In addition, Farshido blended the instruments and the space’s color and texture dynamics such as wood and metal to create a masterful art space.