Draw your own circle: interactive installation "Once Upon a Time, Giotto…" opens at the National Centre RUSSIA

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The interactive installation "Once Upon a Time, Giotto..." opened on 26 September in the business area of the National Centre RUSSIA as part of the Open Lecture Hall "Inventing the Future: Limits of the Human". Guests can become co-creators of the work and draw their own circle on a blank canvas — by the end of the day, numerous individual lines will come together in a single composition created by all the participants.

The installation is based on the history of the circle as one of the oldest and most universal forms through which people have sought for centuries to understand the world and themselves. Around the central canvas, guests will see fragments of this history — from an ancient bronze disc depicting the starry sky to works by Leonardo da Vinci and Wassily Kandinsky, as well as scientific and cultural objects in which the circle takes on new meaning.

The project title refers to the famous story of Giotto. According to legend, when Pope Boniface VIII was choosing an artist to paint the loggia of the Lateran Palace in Rome, Giotto drew a perfectly round circle without a compass instead of submitting sketches — and in doing so demonstrated his skill.

A circle has neither beginning nor end, which is why for centuries it has served as a symbol of infinity, wholeness and harmony. The form can be found everywhere: in the movement of celestial bodies and the architecture of domes, arches and amphitheatres, clock faces, musical notation, the spinning of a dervish and a ballerina's fouetté.  

The exposition surrounding the canvas will bring together different manifestations of the circle. Among them are a bronze disc with gold images of the Sun, Moon and Pleiades, one of the earliest known depictions of the starry sky; Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", which links geometry and the human body; "Chladni Figures", in which sand forms symmetrical patterns under the influence of vibrations; a zoopraxiscope disc by Eadweard Muybridge, which turned the circle into a tool for studying movement; and Wassily Kandinsky's "Several Circles".

On 26 September, Russian and international experts at the Open Lecture Hall "Inventing the Future: Limits of the Human" will discuss how technology is changing memory and attention, emotional well-being and the human body, and where the limits of our capabilities lie today.

Physician and neuroscientist Vladimir Alipov will explain how memories, including traumatic ones, are formed and transformed. Neuroscientist and Professor Suzana Herculano-Houzel will explain what makes the human brain special and how it acquired its unique capabilities.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to talk to young people in Russia about the future — about what they want it to look like and why it is important not simply to wait for it to arrive, but to take part in creating it themselves," the expert noted. 

The discussion will then move from the brain to how people feel in a rapidly changing world. Psychologist and Candidate of Sciences in Sociology Anetta Orlova will discuss how to listen to the signals from your own body, maintain psychological flexibility and manage your energy, while Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Computer System and Technology at the University of Malaya Amirrudin Kamsin will explain why anxiety arises and how technology can affect a person's emotional state.

"I hope not only to share my experience here, but also to gain new knowledge from the other experts. Most importantly, however, I hope that everything we share will genuinely benefit the audience. Perhaps in the future we will be able to establish cooperation and partnerships so that together we can make the world a better and safer place while preserving humanity as a shared value," said Amirrudin Kamsin.

The discussion will conclude with the topic of neurotechnology and new human capabilities. Professor and neurotechnologist Mikhail Lebedev will discuss the development of brain-computer interfaces and the prospects for restoring lost sensations, while Professor of Neuroscience Romulo Fuentes Flores will speak about spinal cord stimulation technologies and the restoration of motor function.

"It is important that people are not afraid of new technologies. Artificial intelligence will not destroy humanity. Neural networks and other technologies exist for our benefit, not to harm us," the expert emphasised.

Follow the Open Lecture Hall livestream throughout the day and join the discussion about the limits of the human.