'The Fifth Element' by Anna Kõuhkna, Helen Sirp, Anu Muiste and Sandra Sirp at the Vaal Gallery

February 2, 2023
Author Echo Gone Wrong

“The Fifth Element” is a visual conversation on the classical elements – air, water, earth, fire, the interaction of which creates the mystical and sacred fifth element. What emerges can be described as aether, space, or love. The visual conversation covers a spectrum of psychological, spiritual and mathematical aspects, but each artist approached the matter through their individual element. Playing with symmetry, the spatial installation connects the artworks and creates a shared space, linking each element with its own cardinal point. The installative compass of the exhibition is composed of hints on movement directions, where the exact route is up to the visitor to decide.

Nature and woman have a special place in Anna Kõuhkna’s (b. 1994) artworks. Wherein the Woman simultaneously embodies the author herself and represents a universal person. The artist has described her painting style as keeping a visual diary.

www.annakouhkna.com

Helen Sirp (b. 1983) is a London-based conceptual spatial designer who specialises in telling stories through a variety of visual and sensory mediums. Her work ranges from two- to three-dimensional shapes, encompassing installations and photography production, stenography, fashion design, exhibition and spatial design.

www.helensirp.com

Anu Muiste’s (b. 1984) artwork is characterised by profound social awareness. Her delicately and sensitively painted works are like philosophical explosions, where the real message is mixed with surreal form.

www.anumuiste.com

Sandra Sirp (b. 1988) expresses herself mainly through painting and she is charmed by the minimalism in both, the visual expression and the use of mediums. An essential part of her work is a slow and repetitive creative process, which is translated into geometric surfaces, lines and rhythms.

www.sandrasirp.com

The exhibition is sponsored by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, and Punch Club.

www.vaal.ee

“The Fifth Element”
Anna Kõuhkna, Helen Sirp, Anu Muiste, Sandra Sirp
12/01/2023 — 11/02/2023
Vaal Gallery
Tuesday–Friday 12pm–6pm, Saturday 12pm–4pm
Telliskivi 60A/5, Tallinn

Photography: Anna Kõuhkna