I’m late for a plane that’s impossible to be late for

In 2008, Alevtina Kakhidze sent out a letter to affluent Ukrainians asking them to paint the Earth as they see it from aboard their private planes. The action was triggered by the reflection on the social situation of artists and the conditions in which they work – the dissonance between the skills and ideas and the actual possibilities of bringing their projects and plans to life. Kakhidze could not paint the Earth as seen through the window of her own plane because she doesn’t own one. To her surprise, however, two years later she received a response from the foundation of Rinat Akhmetov. Though Akhmetov did not draw the Earth, he treated the request and the project of the artist literally – he offered her his private plane so that she could do the drawing herself.

The work I’m late for a plane… was intended to be an elaborate performance. The artist used public transportation and then hitch-hiked from her home in the suburbs of Kyiv to the Zhulyany airport, arriving a bit late. To the disappointment of the journalists present, no drawings were actually made, but the project was a realization of something seemingly impossible. Kakhidze found herself in the luxurious situation of one who sets the rules of the flight: one who does not have to hurry and worry, as the private plane will be waiting anyway.

Kakhidze proves that art is a space in which all that is impossible can become reality. The setting of the project – such as the specially designed costume – emphasizes the exceptional character of the event and has shaped the image of the artist who, thanks to art and against all odds, can find him/herself among the group of the privileged who fly their own planes. I’m late for a plane… talks about the diverse perception of a world determined by social position, about the different modes of understanding art, and about the contemporary need for sponsorship. An important element in Kakhidze’s project is the abundance of interpretations that it generated – discussions about art as such and the reasons (or lack thereof) for its promotion. This whole discussion is illustrated by the newspaper clippings, comments by Internet users, and TV recordings – all included in the project’s archive.

Izabela Kopania