The exhibition of the Estonian Sculptor’s Union, “Every Person is Born Broken into Pieces” was opened on April 19th at the ARS project space and will remain open until May 19th.
The exhibition looks at the human body as an organic and ever-changing, fragile yet resilient matter, which is in an intricate relationship with the individual’s inner world and the surrounding environment. By bringing together artworks from artists representing different generations, the curators look into the cultural meanings of different bodies and what role visual culture plays in constructing them.
The title of the exhibition is inspired by the novel Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk, in which she writes that every person is born broken into pieces. Everything in children is separate – looking, hearing, understanding, feeling, sensing, and experiencing, and one’s entire life is spent on putting it all together into a single whole. “Understanding the connection between ourselves and the world is shaped by relationships and life experiences. Even more-so perhaps by the stories we grow up with,” the curators explain, “In them, the protagonist is often the one who has to change; the monster becomes the prince, the mermaid loses their tail, the virtuous beauty rises from poverty to the royal court, and in modern reality shows, happy endings come from cosmetic surgeons or new homes. Why can’t the protagonists find their happily-ever-after the way they already are? Why does it have to be the individual who changes, not the world around them?”
Participating artists: Johannes Luik, Kert Elliott Mägi, Sarah Nõmm, Terje Ojaver, René Reinumäe, Paul Rodgers & Anne Daniela Rodgers, Berit Talpsepp-Jaanisoo, Nele Tiidelepp, Marta Vaarik.
The exhibition is co-curated by Mikk Lahesalu and Kerly Ritval.
On International Sculpture Day, April 29th art enthusiasts of any age are invited to participate in a free mold-making and sculpture-casting workshop. The workshop is tutored by the artist Sofia Fattahhova. On ARS Factory’s open gallery day on May 19th, the public is welcome to attend exhibition tours. The exhibition will be open until May 19th. Opening times: Mon-Sat 13.00-19.00.
ARS project space is wheelchair accessible.
Mikk Lahesalu is a curator and cultural manager, who often works with socially engaged contemporary art. They graduated from the Art History department at Leiden University in the Netherlands. They recently curated the video art screening “Spiralbound” using the video archives of the Estonian Center for Contemporary Art.
Kerly Ritval is a gallery assistant, freelance curator and critic who graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Art and Visual Culture and is currently working on her master’s degree in a curatorial program. Her latest exhibitions include the group exhibition “Unicorn” in Rüki gallery, Viljandi and the solo exhibition of the Icelandic artist Katrin Inga Jonsdottir Hjordisardottir “Welcome to the Land of Love” at Listval gallery in Reykjavik.
We thank: Anne Rudanovski, Marika Agu, Martin Lahesalu, Emma Leeloo Dillon, Martin Tiidelepp, Art Museum of Estonia, Põhjala Brewery, Crafter’s Gin
Supporters: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Artists’ Association, Tallinn city, and Student Council of Estonian Academy of Arts
Graphic design: Villem Sarapuu
Photography: Roman-Sten Tõnissoo
