Penza, 6 September 2017. PenzaNews. The contact exhibition "Da Vinci's live mechanics" was opened in Penza K.A. Savitsky picture gallery on Wednesday, September 6.
The exhibition consists of 30 wooden mechanisms created by the Saint-Petersburg studio "Sampo".

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Among other things, visitors have a chance to see a steam cannon, a post hoist, a tank, a reduction gear, an automatic locking mechanism, a mechanical drum, a parachute, a triple-charged quick-firing gun, a device to wind threads on a spool, and a bicycle.

The exhibition is located in such a way that first the guests have an opportunity to see small and simple mechanisms and then – large ones that consist of small parts.

According to the curator of "Da Vinci's live mechanics" Tatyana Rultyna, work on the exhibits lasted about four months.

"The exhibition is unusual in a way that visitors can not only see the things but they can also touch them, start different mechanism, spin and move them," she explained.

Tatyana Rultyna added that the idea to create such an exhibition had emerged thanks to a hammer that could be connected to a mill to automate the process of forging.

"When it was brought to our studio and we tried to put the hammer into operation, we realized that it was extremely interesting.

Everyone was fascinated and had a fun. So, we decided to organize the exhibition 'Da Vinci's life mechanics'," the exhibition curator said.

According to her, when creating the exhibits only wood was used because the use of metal would have cost more.

"The mechanism of making the screws was the same – all of them are also made of wood. As a result, we failed to make it an exact copy of what it should be," Tatyana Rultyna explained.

She specified that only those Leonardo da Vinci's mechanisms were exhibited, which workers of the studio "Sampo" had managed to recreate.

"The most interesting object is a bicycle. [...] Where else will you see such a vehicle made of wood?" the exhibition curator noted.

During the exhibition opening, the head of the modern art department of the Penza picture gallery Dmitry Bushmin drew attention to the fact that the event took the visitor several centuries back.

"Normally, when people come to a vernissage, they see sculptures, artwork, but here it's quite different. [...] An interesting thing about the exhibition is that it takes us many years back, about half a millennium back," he said.