Taken out of the material flow,
a thing becomes the representation of itself.
Being present without its sense.
Though it’s there and innumerable eyes see it.
It’s there, but out of the reach for touch,
isolated in its own presentation.
Yet it’s touched by something else,
a form that grasps it gently,
blends in without asking for permission.
You see it. It’s happening in front of your eyes,
and know that it will also happen not only here,
but there as well.
It all merges together,
and becomes part of the view.
“You Know You’ve Become Part of the View ” is a joint exhibition by Kristina Õllek and Kert Viiart, which is a continuation to Õllek’s previous exhibition project “When You Have the Object Itself in Front of Your Eyes” and their collaborative project “Exhibit_onscroll” on Instagram, which both engaged with the questions of image representation and dematerialisation within observing the format of an exhibition, and its influence on the viewer and contemporary art position in the digital age.
The new exhibition at Hobusepea gallery carry on with previous subjects and complement these through the contemporary context of archeology and museology by researching the relationship between the exhibited objects and their display elements as well the representative 3D virtual reality.
The exhibition is part of the Young Artist Prize, which was awarded to Kristina Õllek in 2016 for her MA graduation work, and it belongs to the Tallinn Photomonth’17 contemporary art biennial gallery program.
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Kristina Õllek works in the field of photography, video and installation, and questions the relations between space, object and image, considering the context of the original and the copy. Her work examines contemporary visual culture, how representation can be mediated and how it influences our perception. She is particularly interested in the format of exhibition making and in the phenomenon of art documentation, regarding how its position has changed in the digital age.
Kristina Õllek received a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts (Fine Arts, Photography), as well as completed her studies at Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam (2016) and Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee (2012). She has twice been awarded the Young Artist Prize by the Estonian Academy of Arts (in 2013 and 2016). Since 2013 she is the co-founder and member of the artist-run space Rundum.
www.kristinaollek.com
Kert Viiart is a graphic designer and visual artist. In his practice he deals with the influence of technological development on visual language by researching the relations of virtual representations to everyday objects and environments. He also co-runs, with Carl-Robert Kagge, a graphic design studio Le60. He has worked in the Estonian Academy of Arts as the master of silk screen printing studio and as a guest lector at the Department of Graphic Design.
www.kertviiart.com
You Know You’ve Become Part of the View
Kristina Õllek & Kert Viiart
Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
12.10–30.10.2017
Photography: Kristina Õllek & Kert Viiart
