In his works, Alexej Meschtschanow uses steel andA steel tubes as a symbol of modern design. CombiningA readymades and original sculptures to theA ends of a new synthesis, his objects embody a strategyA of critical intervention in discourses advancing anA extended definition of art. They both illustrate andA comment on recent tendencies by which design objects have become firmly integrated inA the collections of art museums and within artisticA discourse. 'The Birth of the Hygienic' documents Meschtschanow's sculptural installations and provides an insight on how his forms evolve. With an interview by Ilaria Gianni and a text by Oliver Kossack.