David Medalla's A Stitch in Time – currently on view at Venus Over Manhattan in New York – invites viewers to embellish the work by adorning it with messages, keepsakes and detritus. Pictured: installation view

艺术家大卫·梅德拉(DavidMedalla)站在伦敦阿普斯利大厦(Apsley House)优雅的螺旋楼梯上，这是第一位惠灵顿公爵的故居。他面对安东尼奥·卡诺瓦(Antonio Canova)雕刻的拿破仑雕像“火星与和平使者”(MarsthePeacmaker)，这是一尊高达近4米的英雄雕像，也是意大利艺术家委托给法国皇帝的礼物，直到它在英国滑铁卢胜利后穿过海峡。相比较而言，美达拉的作品也经过了许多人的努力：题为“及时缝合”的纺织品作品上装饰着许多合作者所缝的信息、纪念品和碎屑。同样地，在大本钟、皮卡迪利马戏团和更远的地方，这幅作品是一种穿越历史和地理的旅行，无论是在内部还是外部。

梅德拉是马尼拉出生的艺术家，世界旅行者，动力学艺术的先驱。20世纪60年代，他在希思罗机场把手帕送给两位前恋人，并向他们指手画脚；几年后，他遇到了一件衣服，由背包客从巴厘岛搬到阿姆斯特丹。

接下来的系列探讨了时间、流通性和偶遇的主题，并继续在纽约的金星上，曼哈顿，一个新的迭代目前正在生产(与一个较早的2013年版本)。彩线卷轴悬在近8米长的布上，这样游客就可以添加文字、图片或诸如收据和糖果包装纸之类的小物品。在这充满边界限制和全球不信任的偏执年中，Medalla的乌托邦愿景是对巧合和相互联系的一种值得欢迎的敬意。

Medalla, a Manila-born artist, world-traveller and pioneer of kinetic art, conceived of A Stitch in Time in the 1960s when he gave handkerchiefs to two ex-lovers in Heathrow airport, with instructions to embroider whatever they pleased. Pictured: installation view

Standing on the spiral staircase of London’s Apsley House, Medalla (pictured left) is photographed holding a swath of yellow fabric, facing Antonio Canova’s Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker. Pictured right: the original 1960s iteration of A Stitch in Time. Courtesy the artist and VENUS

In this paranoid year of border restrictions and global distrust, Medalla’s utopian vision is a welcome homage to serendipity and interconnectedness

Spools of coloured thread dangle over the nearly 8m-long cloth. Pictured: installation view

The ensuing series explores themes of time, circulation and chance encounters. The work on view at Venus is simply the newest version

The exhibition also features a history of keepsakes, ephemera and photographs of Medalla and his works

keywords:Textiles, Exhibitions

关键词：纺织品、展览