The exhibition, entitled “Tactilite: Stone that Tickles the Gaze”, from jewellery artist Darja Popolitova, was open on the 5th of August at Hobusepea gallery in Old Tallinn. The solo show incorporates video works, jewellery, and installations create a fictional world where the witch Seraphita helps to cope with the frustrations of everyday life.
“Seraphita is a fictional character who helps me to expand the usual functions of jewellery. For example, to shoot the jewellery so that the viewer would be much more interested in watching a video clip rather than a stand-alone artifact attached to the stand,” the author notes.
The video tutorials and jewellery-tools in the exhibition are tailored to the specific needs of the people. For example, someone would like to become more self-confident, someone — to bring lost intimacy into life, and someone — to cope with aggression.
The artist considers materiality not only as a physical component but also as a digital one. The action performed by the witch Seraphita on the screen becomes a “ritual” involving corporeality. Without such powerful wearable symbols as jewellery, human life would not have sentimental values — gift-giving rituals, tactile moments, personal memories.
Darja’s works are published in local and international media. Kelly Riggs, a contemporary critic and curator, writes about Darja’s work in the Dutch art magazine Current Obsession:
“Though the physical jewellery objects are the crux of what Popolitova creates, they are also just a part of the total picture, or the collective persona she presents when she shares that jewellery online.”
Darja Popolitova was born in 1989 in Sillamäe and lives and works in Tallinn. She is also doing a PhD at Estonian Academy of Arts. Darja’s practice includes contemporary jewellery, digital craft and video art. Recently, Darja Popolitova has participated in exhibitions at the Museum Arnhem in Holland (2020), Art and Design Museum in New York (2019), the Kunstnerforbundet gallery in Oslo (2018). Darja Popolitova is represented by the following galleries: Marzee in Nijmegen, Beyond in Antwerp, and Door in Mariaheide. Her work is included in the collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Museum Arnhem, and private collections. The work of Darja Popolitova was awarded the Annual Awards of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in 2020, scholarships of the Ministry of Culture and Adamson-Eric in 2018. She also received the scholarship of Young Jewellery in 2015.
The exhibition can be visited from 5th to 30th of August 2021, every day (except Tuesday) 11:00-18:00.
Gallery address: Hobusepea 2, Tallinn.
The exhibition is done in collaboration with Jakob Tulve (VFX) and Andres Nõlvak (sound).
Sponsors: by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Moe OÜ, Õllenaut OÜ, Hobusepea Gallery, Orbital Vox Studios.
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
’Witchcraft for Digital Image’. Oilpaint on cavas, pigmente beeswax, monitor wall mount
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
Video installation ’I’ve Created this Jewel for You Myself’. Wood, pigmented beeswax, 3D, engraved glass, 3D printed silver, metal wire, Ipad mini 2, USB converter
Video installation ’I’ve Created this Jewel for You Myself’. Wood, pigmented beeswax, 3D, engraved glass, 3D printed silver, metal wire, Ipad mini 2, USB converter
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
Video installation ‘Antropos Hapticos C21’. Wheat grass powder, pigmente beeswax, iPhone 7, metal wire, 3D printed Silver
Video installation ’I’ve Created this Jewel for You Myself’. Wood, pigmented beeswax, 3D, engraved glass, 3D printed silver, metal wire, Ipad mini 2, USB converter
Importance Booster. Medal: rhodium-plated and laser-engraved sterling silver, textile, embroidery
Intimacy Trigger. Necklace: rhodium-plated, E-coated and laser-engraved sterling silver, artist’s head hair
Linguo Booster. Phone accessory: rhodium-plated and laser-engraved sterling silver, jade
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
TACTILITE: STONE THAT TICKLES THE GAZE. Exhibition view, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, 2021
Stills from video-works ’How to Speak Language Without Mistakes’ and ’How to Exercise Self-Control’. Sound design: Andres Nõlvak. VFX: Jakob Tulve
Stills from video-works ’How to Speak Language Without Mistakes’ and ’How to Exercise Self-Control’. Sound design: Andres Nõlvak. VFX: Jakob Tulve
Stills from video-works ’How to Speak Language Without Mistakes’ and ’How to Exercise Self-Control’. Sound design: Andres Nõlvak. VFX: Jakob Tulve
Stills from video-works ’How to Speak Language Without Mistakes’ and ’How to Exercise Self-Control’. Sound design: Andres Nõlvak. VFX: Jakob Tulve
