What is empathy and how does it work? How can works of art awaken this state in us? How does empathy spur us to action?

Empathy (Greek ἐν – “in” + Greek πάθος – “passion”, “suffering”, “feeling”) – conscious feeling with the inner world or emotional state of another person. This is the ability to experience the state of mind of another, a bridge that connects people, despite the difference in age, social status, gender, race and experience. This is a very sincere feeling that is almost impossible to fake. Unlike compassion, empathy allows you to share a full range of emotions, from negative to the most positive. The nature of the manifestation of empathy also differs – from a light response to a deep immersion in the sensory world of another person.

Psychologists, neurophysiologists, philosophers, artists have long been trying to understand and explain the phenomenon of empathy. But there is no definitive answer yet; there is an assumption that “mirror neurons” in the brain are responsible for the work of empathy.

Sigmund Freud was one of the first to define the word “empathy”, referring to the need for the psychoanalyst to put himself in the place of the patient in order to better understand him. But empathy is a huge emotional work. This work is undertaken by the artist, becoming a medium that connects people through his works.

The works of art of the EMPATHEIA exhibition reveal the theme of empathy from different points of view and start the process of feeling it. Artists perform human experience and the emotional background of the environment. Technological performances, video installations, interactive objects, graphics, canvases – all of them are created to, like a tuning fork, tune human hearts to each other, no matter how distant and different they may be. By interacting with art, we create empathic connections between people.

Art exposes our feelings, the “naked heart” cannot remain indifferent. Hearts fill the “Ruin”, turning it into a House of hearts.