Estonian art in Australia. Living Space

Exhibition Living Space is first of its kind that brings a selection of contemporary Estonian art to Australia.

As part of global festivities of Estonia’s centenary of nationhood, exhibition Living Space brings the celebrations closer to Victorian and Australian Estonian community. The exhibition presents different generations of Estonian women artists whose practices are diverse in used media and work with the perception and interpretation of the body’s experience of space.

What does home/homeland mean or what role does it play in contemporary Estonian society? What are the roles or rituals we subconsciously perform or inhabit, through which we give meaning to our living space? The artists offer insight into their experienced living space through rethinking old and fostering new traditions in states and being.

The six exhibiting artists include distinguished artist Liina Siib, who represented Estonia at the 54th Venice Art Biennale, renowned artists Mall Nukke, Maria Kristiina Ulas and Ulvi Haagensen, and established young artists Britta Benno and Helen Tago. As part of the exhibition, four visiting artists will give artist talks and workshops at the Red gallery.

Exhibition includes prints, drawings, installation, video

Exhibition runs from 15th March – 8th April 2018 (open during Easter weekend)
Exhibition opening 15th March 2018 at 6pm
Artists talks Saturday, 17th March 2pm

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Participating artists

Britta Benno
Playing with the symbols of motherhood and housekeeping, Britta’s main subject is her own multitasking role. The series called „Madonna with Children“ was first exhibited in Britta’s solo-exhibition „Multitasking“, in 2015. „Multitasking“ is a personal story about being a mother, a housewife and an artist.

Britta is giving a lecture “Contemporary Estonian Printmaking Practices” at Red gallery on 24th March, at 2pm

Liina Siib
Liina adresses topics, characters, spaces and situations that tend to go unnoticed due to their ordinariness or are silenced or ignored. The topic of her art ranges from femininity and social space to different manifestations of people’s everyday practices. In 2011, she represented Estonia with her project “A Woman Takes Little Space” at the 54th Venice Art Biennale. �

Mall Nukke
Mall Nukke has worked with collages, drawings and paintings exploring the themes of Estonia and what is means to be an Estonian throughout her entire career. The topic of her work revolves around person and space. Her work is based on a personal cognitive experience of conforming to one’s social environment.

Mall is giving a short, two-part workshop “Photorealistic Charcoal Drawing” at Red gallery, on the 17th and 18th March, at 5.30pm

Helen Tago
Helen’s practice mainly revolves around working with intaglio techniques, taking special interest in electro etching and photopolymer processes. Her most recent focus is negligible spaces that have an impact.

Maria-Kristiina Ulas
Maria-Kristiina has expressed her way of thinking in large-scale abstractions of figures through painting, drawing and printmaking techniques. The figure drawings in her sketchbook await and prepare for their turn to be made into papercuts and later transformed into playful lasercut installations.

Maria-Kristiina is giving a short workshop “The Art of Papercutting” at Red gallery, on the 24th March, at 5.40pm

Ulvi Haagensen
Exploring the aesthetics of the everyday, Ulvi’s work depicts and interprets everyday motifs and domestic activities. She is interested in the notions of responsibility and duty, social norms and limits, and personal freedom.

Join Ulvi for her performance “Sweeping” at Red gallery, on the 18th March, at 12pm

Please register to the workshops via www.ruum.org

The project is supported by Estonian House Social Club, Estonian Embassy in Canberra, Estonian Society in Melbourne, Estonian Cultural Endowment and Council of Estonian Societies in Australia

more information:
www.ruum.org
www.redgallery.com.au