Photo reportage from the exhibition 'Triptych' by Mari Männa at Uus Rada gallery

April 22, 2025
Author Echo Gone Wrong

Published in Photo / Video from Estonia

Mari Männa, Triptych. Photo: Roman Tõnissoo

This place is not easy to find. It is one of those places you cannot search for until you are already there. It is a secret location where history seems to have come to a halt. A place that does not adhere to ordinary spatial logic but exists somewhere between the spheres. Is this place something that once was, is now, or is yet to come? The only thing that is clear is that danger and beauty walk hand in hand here. We can sense this from the stories that begin to unfold from the reliefs created by an unknown master. The stone speaks, but not directly—whispering, hinting, in a language understood only by those who know how to listen. Mari Männa’s new composition is inspired by the iconography of Karja Church, where Christian and pagan symbolism intertwine.

Mari Männa (1991) is a sculptor and installation artist from Estonia. She is interested in how narratives take shape — how they form, unfold and often in the background shape the course of our lives. Männa is currently exploring Estonian pre-Christian pagan customs and folklore, examining their impact on cultural identity and spirituality.

Graphic design: Mihkel Kleis
Thanks to: Estonian Cultural Endowment, Ian-Simon Märjama, Piret Männa, Mihkel Kleis, Roman-Sten Tõnissoo

Uus Rada artist-run gallery, Tallinn
06.04-16.04.2025
Photography: Roman-Sten Tõnissoo