Join us for the opening of “Glass Struggle”, a solo exhibition by Sten Eltermaa on September 28, at 5.30 PM at EKA Gallery! 

Glass Struggle is an ongoing artistic research project based on glass as material, paradoxically fragile and extremely resilient at the same time. Glass is used in high-security buildings, and even the Pope drives around in a vehicle protected by bulletproof glass. The semantic field of glass plays an increasingly pervasive role: these days, we are all transparent, constantly looking at our own reflections on our screens, while having virtually no access to our own delicate data, which in many ways is used to control and even enslave us.

In the context of institutions and corporations we can also talk about glass as a symbol of democracy – a reference to open and equal dialogue between the people and those in power. Likewise, it refers to corporate totalitarianism and divergence of social strata. Glass Struggle is based on the semiosis of the viewer and the seen. 

The exhibition is accompanied by the online publication www.struggle.glass, which is also seen as part of one of the sculptures (“A Satellite Deviated from the Orbit”, in collaboration with Maria Lee).

Texts: Maria Lee, Sten Eltermaa

Exhibition design: Arvi Anderson, Sten Eltermaa

Graphic design: Maria Muuk

Website: Maria Muuk, Patrick Zavadskis

Translation: Madis Kuuse (ENG), Olesja Semenkova (RUS)

Thanks: Maria Lee, Arvi Anderson, Krista Loorits, Lauri Eltermaa, Sten-Erik Toos, Tõnis Vassar, Urmo Mets, Madli Ehasalu, Roman-Sten Tõnissoo, Pire Sova & EKA gallery, b210 architects, Kauss Architecture, KUU architects, Kolm Koma Architects, Ilmamaa Publishing House

Special thanks: Karmo Migur, Maria Muuk, Kadi Meriluht, Mary Magdalene

Supporters: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, MEISTRI, Salibar, Klaasissepa, joogipood.ee, nanoPruul, ÕIE, 3DLaser

The exhibition is part of the satellite programme of the Tallinn Photomonth contemporary art biennial.

Young Artist MA award
07.09.–23.09.2021
opening: 07.09, 5 PM

At the exhibition Hopscotch Aksel Haagensen and Triin Kerge will present elements from their respective childhoods. Both artists approach a broader analysis of memory through their own personal memories.

As a young child in Australia, Aksel drew a lot of birds. There were many birds in Australia and they were all so interesting and colourful and different. Recently, Aksel asked his mother which bird had been his favourite and his mother said there was no such thing, “… you liked them all!” He wasn’t simply fascinated by the common popular birds, instead drawing every bird he could, constantly. Haagensen is interested in the subtle otherness of being an Australian-Estonian.

As a young child, Triin visited her great aunt at Voka, Ida-Viru County. Her great aunt lived in an apartment building and from the window all one could see were prefabricated buildings, sandpits and climbing frames. From Voka, Triin remembers picking chamomile, a machine for walnut-shaped waffles and a dating show on television, which made everyone laugh. Recently Triin visited Voka and while walking towards the shop, she remembered that it was from that very shop that to her great delight a roly poly toy was bought for her. At the exhibiton Kerge looks at the nature and materiality of memories.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Thanks to  Marika Alver, Saskia Lillepuu, Katarina Meister, Irmeli Terras, Marcin Teterycz, Tallinn University of Technology, Valge Kuup

You are invited to the solo exhibition “Presence of People Absent” by Katariin Mudist at EKA Gallery. The exhibition is curated by Maria Helen Känd.

8.07.–12.08.
Tue-Sat 12–6 PM

With her solo exhibition “Presence of People Absent”, Katariin Mudist explores the nature of cleaning work and the corresponding attitudes in society in a multi-layered and playful way. The series of photos and videos completed in the course of working as a cleaner for Airbnb apartments (in 2019 and 2020) expose how we perceive the closeness of strangers and the discomfort of encountering signs of people who have left a space they have used.

The exhibition asks: to what extent is it possible to overcome one’s discomfort of being in close contact with strangers through the mess and objects left behind. Further, it addresses the prejudices against cleaning work as a cultural phenomenon and follows Mudist as she tries to approach cleaning as a mindful activity or more philosophically – the constant alternation of order and chaos as a manifestation of eternity and cyclicality in everyday life.

“Simply cleaning the apartments seemed dull and monotonous, so the idea arose to look for opportunities to get to know the people I clean after and to imagine them based on the state of things left behind,” Mudist describes. By gathering as much information about the guests as possible and documenting the items that carried information, Mudist identified patterns in the guests’ behavior. This was facilitated by the fact that the interior design of the apartments had elements to meet the stereotypical expectations of certain travellers, while remaining universal and clinical, typical for a rental apartment. Later, based on the presumption, hypotheses began to emerge about their reasons for visiting Tallinn, lifestyle, gender, number, relationships, hair color and values.

The exhibition – opening at the time when people are highly aware of the nearest disinfectant and the location of other people in a space – strives to offer ways to overcome the fear of the invisible other and uncertainty that a stranger’s presence evokes.

Katariin Mudist is a second-year master’s student in contemporary art at the Estonian Art Academy, who is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghnet, Belgium. She graduated from the Tartu High School of Art in media and advertising design and has studied animation at Moholy-Nagy University. Mudist mostly works in mediums like graphic drawings, animation and installation. Her works have been exhibited both in Estonia and at international festivals. Mudist’s most recent exhibition “Festival of Disbelief” took place in the Gallery of the Artists’ House of Pärnu City Gallery in cooperation with Maria Elise Remme.

Maria Helen Känd has studied film, theatre and media science at the University of Vienna, cultural theory and comparative literature at Tallinn University and is currently in her second year of master’s in curatorial studies at EKA. Her most recent curatorial projects include the group exhibition “Outside of Oneself” at ARS project space, the group exhibition “east end(s)?” at Põhjala tehas and the joint media project of EKA curators “EKA reality”.

Jette Loona Hermanis “Torque Vulnerati”
26.02, 8 PM
27.02, 7 PM
The number of guests is limited, please register at pire.sova@artun.ee

“Torque Vulnerati” is an emotional and expressive fairy tale mystifying transcendence and longing to express an affect. Strongly influenced by the digital age, the material carries a screaming obsession with self-centralization and online persona-portrayal, exhibiting emotional narratives of self in relation to existence and suffering of the soul. Storytelling as a concept from which ambiguous attitudes and ideas emerge. Emo Fairytale drenched in mythological symbolism, the frame – post-internet dark romanticism.

Jette Loona Hermanis, born in1997, is pulsing Baltic blood, Estonian and Latvian. Performance “Torque Vulnerati” is Hermanis’ Bachelor thesis at the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam, in Art-Coreography curricula.

The performance lasts about 60 minutes. The entrance is for free and from Kotzebue street. Please wear a mask and keep a safe distance!

Kristel Zimmer, Linda Mai Kari, Liisamari Viik, Estookin, Anita Kremm
Curator: Ene-Liis Semper

The project is a result of one and a half year studies of EKA Scenography department students. Dassemperdepot consists of five investigators of metaphorical thought: “We sense, create meaning and space, reflect the world and search for poetry. Our mentors are wise and creative people, including Ene-Liis Semper. Study of Deconstruction is a presentation of creative research about metaphorical thought through deconstruction, body, and space.”.

Durational performances: 10–14.02 at 4–8 PM
Exhibition: 16–20.02 at 12–6 PM
The entrance is from Kotzebue street! Please wear a mask and keep a safe distance!

ELEMENTerial — materialisation of the metagrid
EKA algorithmic timber architecture research group exhibition
Authors: dr Sille Pihlak, dr Siim Tuksam

The exhibition “ELEMENTerial” looks at the elements of architecture. What does a house consist of? In an increasingly digital world, a list of materials alone is not enough. In addition to materials and construction methods, the principles of building construction are increasingly influenced by digital tools and sustainability.

With the exhibition we draw parallels between physical and virtual modularity. The digital world is also built from puzzle pieces – algorithms. Algorithms are rule sets that control digital processes. There are also rules in construction, where, what,t and how something can be built – plans and standards. Different materials and technologies, in turn, set geometric constraints. Looking at all these components as algorithmic modules, creates parallels that are easier to understand.

The exhibition describes alternative creative solutions in factory-produced modular wooden architecture developed in collaboration with engineers and wooden house manufacturers over four years of research, and introduces the ideas and methods behind them.

Dr Sille Pihlak is practicing architect, researcher, tutor and co-founder of the algorithmic timber architecture research group in Estonian Academy of Arts, Faculty of Architecture. Sille has studied interior architecture in Estonian Academy of Arts, architecture in Southern California Institute of Architecture and completed her masters in the University of Applied Arts Vienna. After her studies she practiced as design architect in Morphosis Architects in Los Angeles and in Coophimmelb(l)au Vienna. In 2015, together with Siim Tuksam, they started their own office PART–Practice for Architecture, Research and Theory. PART constructed designs have been awarded for their innovative construction techniques, methods of designing and geometry studies, with latest recognition on high voltage electricity pylon Bog Fox. In past five years, Sille has been an active participant in forestry and timber architecture related discussions, as a believer of inevitable sustainability in construction, her work deals with combining algorithmic techniques with local timber industry.

Dr Siim Tuksam is a practicing architect, co-founder of PART – Practice for Architecture, Research and Theory, and a researcher at EKA faculty of architecture, co-founder of the algorithmic timber architecture research group. Siim completed his master studies at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2013 having spent a visiting semester at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. During his studies he gained experience at various architecture offices, most notably Gehry Technologies in Paris and Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna. Since graduation he has been developing his own practice through exhibitions, installations, writings, and architectural projects. Together with Johanna Jõekalda and Johan Tali, he was the curator of the Estonian pavilion Interspace at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014. In 2015, together with Sille Pihlak, he founded PART to curate the Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2015 main exhibition Body Building. As a researcher and partner at PART he’s been devoted to developing algorithmic tools for the design and delivery of pre-fabricated architecture and the critical discourse of digital architecture.

Graphic design: Robi Jõeleht (Polaar)

Support by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Estonian Academy of Arts Faculty of Architecture, Union of Estonian Architects, Arcwood, Rothoblaas.

30.11.–18.12.2020
Open Monday–Saturday, 15:00–18:00
Entrance from Kotzebue street. Please wear a mask!

December brings an opportunity to experience, in an exhibition format, works produced by the students of the Faculty of Fine Arts: every day there will be a fresh crop of university students’ works on display at the gallery. Works of the students studying contemporary art, graphic art, installation, sculpture, photography, and painting will be on display. Each morning, an exhibition will be installed, and each evening it will give way to the next one. We hope that viewers will be able to keep up with the pace of the young artists.

30.11   Drawing: supervisor Eero Alev

01.12   Drawing: supervisor Tõnis Kenkmaa

02.12   Animation: semester overview

03.12   Scenography: supervisor Ene-Liis Semper

04.12   Scenography: supervisor Ene-Liis Semper

05.12   Installation and Sculpture: supervisors Kirke Kangro, Taavi Piibemann

07.12   Contemporary Art: supervisors Mark Dunhill, Kristaps Ancans

08.12   Contemporary Art: supervisors Mark Dunhill, Kristaps Ancans

09.12   Contemporary Art: supervisors Mark Dunhill, Kristaps Ancans

10.12 – Contemporary Art, supervisors Mark Dunhill & Kristaps Ancans

10.12 – Photography, supervisor Holger Kilumets

11.12   Painting: supervisors Mihkel Maripuu, Kristi Kongi, Merike Estna

12.12   Installation and Sculpture: supervisors Jaanus Samma, Deneš Farkas

14.12   Graphic Art: supervisors Kadi Kurema, Eve Kask

15.12   Graphic Art: supervisors John Grzinich, Jan Kaus, Urmas Lüüs

16.12   Graphic Art: supervisors Ann Pajuväli, Oliver Laas, Martiinus Daane Klemet

17.12   Painting: supervisors Holger Loodus, Raul Rajangu, Liisa Kruusmägi, Tõnis Saadoja

18.12   Painting: supervisors Jaan Toomik, Mihkel Maripuu, Mihkel Ilus, Heldur Lassi

Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄
Juss Heinsalu

Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄ is a simplified formula representing the chemical composition of clay. This exhibit of the same name is a continuation to the exhibition “Surface View” in the monumental gallery of the Tartu Art House (June 2020). It gathers together a wide range of artistic applications of clay in ceramics, glass, printmaking and in new material combinations. Heinsalu deals with clay as a source, medium and environment. In his material-based research and creation practice, he looks at the properties of clay while combining them with mythological derivations, scientific hypotheses and speculative solutions. EKA Gallery displays prints made with clay pigments, fused clay-glass samples, ceramic elements, formed clay-skin from bioplastic and wool mixture, micro-macro scales of clay through video format and much more.

Heinsalu adds: “My studio practice merges materials with invented tools, mythological narratives and folklore with contemporary technology. I often lean on fiction to playfully observe and (re)define the surrounding world. In this exhibition, clay is simultaneously a base material, form, language, metaphor and a reflection.”

Juss Heinsalu studied ceramics at the Estonian Academy of Arts and received his MFA at NSCAD University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Heinsalu deals daily with material-based research and creation, and in Fall 2020 began additional studies in the field of interior architecture at EAA. Previously, he has actively participated in various projects and exhibitions across Europe and North America.

Thanks from the artist for the support of this exhibition and his practice: Estonian Artists’ Association, Arts Nova Scotia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the departments of Glass Art, Ceramics, and Jewellery and Blacksmithing at Estonian Academy of Arts, Printmaking department at NSCAD University, Valge Kuup, and artist’s family and friends.

______

Ceramic Dimension
10–28.11.2020
Lauri Kilusk, Martin Melioranski and Urmas Puhkan.

The international workshop-exhibit “Ceramic Dimension“ introduces the possibilities of clay 3D printing in EKA. The project is organized by Urmas Puhkan and Lauri Kilusk from the Department of Ceramics and Martin Melioranski from the Department of Architecture. Huge assistive support from Kaiko Kivi as a system architect and Madis Kaasik from Prototyping Lab.

During the period of almost five years, the professionals and students of different disciplines from EKA and elsewhere in the World, have been engaged in an experimental process, that has taken the knowledge and sensibility gathered through centuries of this specific materiality and combined it with current technological outputs, initiating novel outcomes from a well tested material.

The exhibit “Ceramic Dimension“ gives an overview of the wide spectrum of morphological and space-making topics led by design, art and architectural agendas, that have been brought to the physical environment by stratifying refined clay mass with digital tools and specially designed 3D printers and an advanced collaborative robot.

When compared to the now common plastic filament 3D printing, it brings forth contrasting results – clay is much more “alive”, even after going through the stages of digital-mechanical treatments. Clay, due to its substantiate internal properties, keeps on moving even after receiving its numerically driven exact shape. This in turn gives it a certain character, and avoids the easily attainable repetitive numbness and dryness when compared to regular digital prints from established industrial materials.

This has in some cases been integrated with properties of other materials in order to gain specific composite mixtures. Leftovers of Rockwool, waste paper, sand etc, has introduced a recycling and up-cycling perspective to the process, at the same time improving the printing properties of the base-material.

With our workshop-exhibit we wish to start a broader discussion on the possibilities of 3D clay printing. During this exhibition, the EKA Gallery will transform into a kind of laboratory, where new objects become alive during a continuous experiment. The viewer is expected to ask questions and express opinions, thereby becoming more akin to a participant in this process. We plan to make web-mediated meetings with several internationally recognized and established practitioners of this craft.

Next to the finished works shown and done prior to the opening, the exhibit will gain additional performative layers of integrating machinic intelligence to the joy of human discovery by making new results – showing both successes and mistakes.

Participants: Elize Hiiop, Madis Kaasik, Lauri Kilusk, Kaiko Kivi, Martin Melioranski, Urmas Puhkan Laura Põld, Oksana Teder, Katri Jürimäe, Sanna Lova, Jekaterina Burlakova, Aleksandra Kazanina, Kristel Ojasuu, Helena Tuudelepp.