Photo reportage from the exhibition 'The Art of Adapting' at the Kadriorg Art Museum

The Art of Adapting

The Art of Adapting explores how we habitually perceive, interpret and value natural environments and our co-species. The exhibition observes the approaches of contemporary artists to nature appreciation and the de-aestheticising of nature rooted in ecological aesthetics and ecofeminism.

A new time demands a new awareness: an ecological awareness to be exact. It is somewhat dark and scary being in that new awareness, but those thoughts and feelings cannot be ignored. We need to learn to live with them and to adapt. Amidst those thoughts, we become aware of ourselves as a species and of our trans-species actions that have an irreversible effect on the living environment. The best of the remaining choices is a symbiosis with nature and a perception of human beings as part of a greater ecological network, which requires cooperation and a responsible attitude towards all life.

An awareness of natural culture and its relative importance in contemporary society is essential. It is an understanding that has brought the Anthropocene to the threshold of coping with deep ecological issues and forces us to think about what lies ahead for humankind. One of the most highly regarded philosophers of our time, Bruno Latour, discusses the actual indistinguishability between nature and culture in his seminal book We Have Never Been Modern, referring to the artificial duality that modernism tried to achieve: the separation of nature from culture. However, the gradual disappearance of the natural environment and global problems no longer allow us to separate nature and culture, but force us to acknowledge their unity and call on people to adapt.

The Art of Adapting explores how we habitually perceive, interpret and value natural environments and our co-species. The exhibition observes the approaches of contemporary artists to nature appreciation and the de-aestheticising of nature rooted in ecological aesthetics and ecofeminism. The borders between humanity and the natural environment have been shifted in the exhibition halls with the help of art: critical contemporary artists and works from the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia provoke discussions on biodiversity, variability, co-species, dependency relationships, eco-anxiety and sustainability. In dialogue with the above-mentioned artworks, contemporary artists and old masters give viewers food for thought: what was the natural environment like in previous centuries, how have artists approached the environment, and how has this approach changed under the changing environmental conditions? Several interpre- tations are rooted in the artists’ personal relationships with consumption and their use of materials, conveying a wish to come up with more hopeful future scenarios.

At the core of the exhibition is also the adaptability of the participants and compilers: they have used pre-existing works and design elements or have adapted, rediscovered and placed them in new environments. One of the aims of this exhibition is to think about sustainable curating and a sustainable culture industry (low costs and productivity, existing works of art and slow transport), which can lead us towards a more viable cultural sector.

– Text by curators Madli Ehasalu, Triin Metsla

Venue: Kadriorg Art Museum
Open: 15/09/2023 – 03/03/2024
Curators: Madli Ehasalu and Triin Metsla
Artists: Sophie Durand, Elo-Reet Järv, Sandra Kosorotova, Kärt Ojavee, Uku Sepsivart, Denisa Štefanigová, Paco Ulman and Kristina Õllek
Exhibition design: Siim Karro

Photography: Stanislav Stepashko