Keskturg hosts a lot of remnants of a time that should have passed long ago, but for many it brings up many feelings of nostalgia. In two years it will be no more, so now is the perfect time to use this space as an example of problematic themes that we should be discussing and recognizing freely. Soviet remnants still alive in our society, and their romanticisation.
In the downstairs meat market, the bloody view of a decapitated pig’s head rules the scene. For many this image is part of the everyday life or a funny childhood memory. They may say “Oh I remember when grandma came back home one summer with a whole pig head in a bag to make soup” or that the kids
would be sent inside when the pigs were being slaughtered, but they still saw the corpses hanging afterward being drained of blood.
Looking back now these seem like sweet memories of a pretty gruesome time. But this is the language used a lot when speaking about hard life situations, or in this case traumatic events from soviet times.
This exhibition combines the symbolic pig’s head with soviet style ghostly lace curtains, also seen around the Keskturg halls. The head, bloodied side decorated in sparkles, represents an ugly situation being tried to mask as something better, in an attempt to not deal with the very clear underlying problem. The whole room is being lit in pink light, just like the freezers of meat in the rest of the market.
Keskturg is the same, with all its known and criminally unknown history, it represents a huge part of Estonian life still unquestioned, being covered in glitter.
Supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Artist: Katariina Kesküla
Exhibition Title: Unustus
Venue: Keskpuur, Tallinn, Estonia
Location: Lihahall 2. korrus, Keskturg, Tallinn, Estonia
Dates: January 27 – February 18, 2024
Photography: Kenneth Jeffrey/ all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
Katariina Kesküla, Unustus, 2024, exhibition view, Keskpuur, Tallinn
