An exhibition project that experiments with time and location

2022 01 01 — 2022 01 06
Author Echo Gone Wrong
Published in Events in Estonia

January 1, 2022, the six-day interdisciplinary group (art)exhibition project “NewYearsRezolution” will kick off, exploring the bittersweet connotations of the New Year, such as the making and breaking of promises, the stillness that comes with the beginning of a new year, and the hope for something better in the darkest time of the year. The exhibition will take place in the messaging platform “Telegram” and will feature the work of six Estonian artists: Darja Popolitova, Alexei Gordin, Siim Elmers, Martin Kirsiste, Elina Masing and Liisbeth Horn.

The most distinctive and challenging aspect of the exhibition “NewYearsRezolution” is the fact that it takes place in the messaging platform “Telegram”. Why? Because the conversation, which takes place through messages, images and emojis, has its own specific feel. We don’t experience things on the screen as we do in real life, and this is the effect the project wants to explore. The beginning of the new year offers an excellent opportunity for the exhibition, as most of society tends to be able to look at nothing but a phone screen as a result of the consumption of various substances. So why not look at the exhibition?

Six artists from different disciplines will tackle the humane and playful assortment of themes of the beginning of the year in a chat application. This will be done with existing works as well as works created specially for the exhibition. The project will involve jewellery artist Darja Popolitova, painter Alexei Gordin, sculptor Siim Elmers, sound and visual artist Martin Kirsiste and performance artists Elina Masing and Liisbeth Horn. On each day, one artist will publish a work experimenting with both medium and time.

Taking advantage of the full potential of the chatroom, different writers will support the artworks in parallel. This includes a team of writers specially assembled for the exhibition – Liisbeth Horn, Brigit Arop, Aleksander Metsamärt – who will help to link the different performances and add value with the messages themselves. In addition, textual input is also expected from the audience joining the chatroom, thus allowing for a community-based and interactive art experience.

The exhibition will be curated by Anita Kodanik, Gertu Borodkina, Aleksander Metsamärt, Kristo Villem and Marion Leetmaa, all second year MA students in Art and Curatorial Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The project is supervised by Anders Härm, head of the curatorial master’s programme at the EAA. The graphic design is done by Michael Ashley Fowler, a MA student in graphic design at the EAA. The exhibition project will run 24 hours a day from 1 January 2022 and with the last day open on 6 January, the Epiphany.

Access to the exhibition: https://t.me/+PXzMaeJD73dkODY0

More information on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/446488837124464

Darja Popolitova (b. 1989) is a jewellery artist who uses jewellery, digital techniques and video in her work. Popolitova’s work plays with the culture of self-help in good faith, simultaneously poking fun at self-help stigmas and stereotypes, and examining with sincere and warm interest why, for what and how we find and create a sense of security through the mediation of the screen.

Alexei Gordin (b. 1989) is mainly known as a painter, but also works in photography, video and performance art. Gordin’s practice is primarily interested in the absurdly stereotypical patterns of human thought and behaviour in contemporary society.

Siim Elmers (b. 1997) is a sculptor working with a variety of materials. Elmers’ main subject matter is personal tragedies, emotions and the world around him. The desire to understand the world and the phenomena around him, and to share his experiences, is at the core of his work.

Martin Kirsiste (b. 1997) is a sound and visual artist based in Tallinn. Kirsiste’s work intertwines gender, desire, strange perceptions, costumed metamorphoses and the darker sides of humanity. In recent years, Kirsiste has also performed as a drag artist under the name Ms. Elsa.

Elina Masing (b. 1997) is a performance artist and musician. Masing graduated from the Tallinn Ballet School and studied dance at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. Masing has worked with the stage both as a director (“Fairy Tale Arch”) and as a performer (“veenus.me“). As a musician, Masing has performed in band (5HORSES) and as a solo artist (Valge Tüdruk).

Liisbeth Horn (b. 1997) is a performance artist and director, graduated in dance at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. In addition to participating in various exhibitions, Liisbeth has established herself as a director (“Truth and Justice”). Last year she was awarded the University of Tartu scholarship named after Professor Kalju Komissarov.