Still from video work, Ástríður Jónsdóttir and Kaisa Maasik, 2021
Ástríður Jónsdóttir (IS) & Kaisa Maasik (ET)
Flag Days
6.-17.10.2021
Locations:
Vent Space Project Space, Vabaduse väljak 6/8, Tallinn (entrance from the courtyard)
Flag poles in front of the Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja pst 7, Tallinn
Opening times:
Tue-Sun 12pm – 6pm
Opening:
On Tuesday, October 5, 2021 from 6pm at Vent Space
Please provide COVID certificate upon arrival at the opening event
Flag Days, an exhibition dealing with nations’ conquests and pride, is a project between Kaisa Maasik, from Estonia, and Ástríður Jónsdóttir, from Iceland. Both artists’ home countries have relatively short histories of independence. Flags of both nations are young and have played an important part in their plights and fights for freedom.
The exhibition raises questions about national pride and affiliation. With the flag as their subject, the artists’ emphasis is on notions and ceremonies surrounding it. Flags unite, invoke pride and disrupt unities. In an attempt to broaden the idea of what constitutes a flag, the artists draw parallels between sports and international relations in order to examine the power struggles and need to dominate opponents inherent in both.
Flag Days is part of the satellite programme of the Tallinn Photomonth contemporary art biennial and is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Embassy of Iceland in Helsinki.
Contributors: Karen Sif Ársælsdóttir, Madis Kurss, Rakel Ýr Stefánsdóttir
Thanks: Hilja Koplimets, Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar – FH, Karel Koplimets, Kling & Bang, Nudist Drinks, Tartu Ülikooli Akadeemiline Spordiklubi.
ÁSTRÍÐUR JÓNSDÓTTIR (b. 1991, Iceland) is a visual artist from Reykjavík. She studied fine arts and sculpture respectively, at Iceland University of the Arts and Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki. Ástríður’s work, often site specific, delicately marries balance and tension: A suggestion of an event that has passed – or perhaps a story yet to be concluded.
KAISA MAASIK (b. 1994, Estonia) is an artist and curator based in Tallinn. She has graduated from the Master of Contemporary Art programme at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2021. Maasik values shared practices and working with techniques which expand into the space. In 2020, Maasik was awarded the Wiiralt stipend.