Exhibitions

The exhibition is curated by Mariliis Rebane (EKA New Media, MA) and includes sculptures by Touristes Tristes (Dylan Ray Arnold & Océane Bruel), series of postcards by Leena Kela video works by artists Kristoffer Ala-Ketola, and Mika Taanila and a lecture performance by Subhangi Singh.

Like a Windless Cloud remains open until September 4.

The exhibition forms a constellation in which artworks interlace through their shared reflections on the accumulation of time. The curator of the exhibition was interested in searching for possibilities while also acknowledging difficulties associated with emptiness, lingering, and putting up one’s feet. In the company of the artworks, she wanted to welcome rest, slowing down, and taking it easy, as well as watching clouds pass over a clear blue sky. Along the way, came up an inability or unwillingness to succeed in this, but also other expectations related to the fast pace of contemporary life.

On Friday, August 11 a lecture performance titled Rest/Unrest: Notes on Loitering was held by Shubhangi Singh.

As part of the exhibition, a column by journalist Anton Vanha-Majamaa is translated into English and Estonian.

On 18 August at 7 p.m., the group exhibition “To mold, To hold. Currents in Estonian ceramics” will open at the ARS project space in Tallinn.

amicably and unapologetically sharing space
(so much has been shattered into pieces
it’s nowhere to be found – a shame)
youthful
youthful crocheters interact with the mountain
in big 3D light
in the light of the dome
friendly and equitable
in fact, they are a family
delicate sensitive fingers see the bonds
the gaze connects the distant and the remote in the present day
storehouse of fired clay wants to be put on the table
along with young relatives
see this table there is no such thing as time here after all
strangely square and rounded meet
angular and smooth
the crackle and the lava glaze
white and dark black and shining
In the hot kiln the clay bird has made a nest for itself
lays eggs in wondrous shapes or egg-shapes
but more in other shapes
a discreet feminine wave has exploded from the kiln
captures the eye and sets it free again
paper and pencil have watched it all
and the camera has admired it
captured moments are sprinkled on trays
with a delicate and sensitive hand
in the shadows of the twists and turns is the hard heart of the clay bird
that explodes again and again into fragments

On 31 August at 14.00 (EEST) 4th-year Art and Design PhD student Nesli Hazal Oktay will present her third design experiment study titled “Dissolving Distances”. Public peer-review event will take place in the Zoom, please find the link to participate HERE.

Reviewers:
Dr. Oscar Tomico, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Dr. Verena Fuchsberger, University of Salzburg, Austria

Supervisors:
Dr. Kristi Kuusk, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
Prof. Danielle Wilde, Umeå University, Sweden and University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

Nesli Hazal Oktay aims to offer embodied intimacy for people who are close by heart but physically apart. Specifically, she explores designing close-to-body experiences at a distance through remote bio-rings, rings made of natural ingredients. Remote bio-rings are highly customizable, can be biodegraded, and start dissolving when exposed to humidity e.g.: water, or sweat. The idea of creating a non-lasting object to be worn on the body—that required care, that was ambiguous and tangible—was a result of her prior user study of cultural probing and embodied design ideation. She further experimented with remote bio-rings by making the ring and wearing it in everyday life together with her father at a distance.

In her third and last peer review event, she showcases a user study with 3 pairs (6 participants) that made remote bio-rings at their homes while self-reported and self-documented their personal experiences. They then further shared their meaning-makings with Nesli through a semi-structured interview. Overall, participants found remote bio-rings to be supporting new understandings about intimacy at a distance. As a result, their perception of “distance” alters slightly or changes completely by i) embarking on a journey, ii) creating time and space to be together, and iii) carrying each other through a tangible object.

On 30 June at 5 pm the group exhibition “Through fog and stones”, with works by Katarina Kruus, Liina Leo, Eugenio Marini and Ingrid Helena Pajo, will open in the monumental gallery of the Tartu Art House.

In the exhibition, the artists will regather to weave their creative journeys into one living and breathing organism. As a follow-up to the exhibition projects “Roaming” (ARS Kunstilinnak, 2022) and “DOKKING Station” (Vent Space, 2021), this joint project is reaching into blurred intervals, into the mist.

Fog, a cloud of suspended water droplets, reduces the transparency of the air. Fog as an image of obscurity can be seen as a confusing factor, as a phenomenon that obscures one’s view. At the same time, there is also potential hidden in the fog: an opportunity to hide and let thoughts find shape, like in a cosmic cloud in which stars are born.

“Through fog and stones” opens these intermediate areas and hiding places, in which one can be away or can become. These places may also be states, movements in which everything stands still. The blink of an eye between exhalation and inhalation. Moments when the old skin is falling off, but new skin has not yet begun to grow. Staying in an in-between state can be both stimulating and stagnating, glowing like light and as solid as stone.

Ingrid Helena Pajo (b. 1996) explores original textile technologies through gathering and weaving. What she finds form an integral part of this journey of discovery, highlighting the importance of the journey and the process. She is fascinated by the potential of material arts to make sense of the experience of human life. In 2021, Pajo graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a specialisation in textiles (MA) and was awarded the title of young textile artist of the year by the Estonian Textile Artists´ Association that same year.

Eugenio Marini (b. 1995) is an artist from Rome who graduated in fine arts from the Liceo Artistico Ripetta, studied sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and worked with several artists in Italy and abroad. He resides alternately in Estonia, Italy and Greece, and works in sculpture and installation, using mostly found objects and materials.

Liina Leo (b. 1993) combines several media of contemporary art in her work, primarily dealing with the exploration of hostile space and today’s alienating environment. She is a graduate of Central Saint Martins in Contemporary Photography, London. She has previously participated in and organised several exhibitions in Estonia and abroad, for example at the Unit1 gallery in London, and the EKA gallery and VENT space in Tallinn, and has participated in the Bauhaus Fest in Weimar, Germany and the YTAT triennial in Lodz, Poland.

Katarina Kruus (b. 1995) is a multidisciplinary artist-designer who studies, observes and mediates the transformation of materials from one state to another. She focusses on biomaterials and natural pigments, while thinking about desirable future landscapes. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a specialisation in textiles (BA) and is currently obtaining a master’s degree there. In addition, she has studied at the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art.

Graphic design: Johanna Ruukholm

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

The exhibition will be open until 30 July.

On June 15th at 6pm we invite you to EKA Graphic Art students exhibition “Wälljapanek” opening at Aparaaditehas Balcony Gallery.

“Dear compatriots! Let us travel back 150 years in time. One might think that it no longer concerns us in any way, but how we tell history TODAY and what we tell about it affects us more than we might think. This is not a museum, but an exhibition. The display of the works of eight artists introduces those lands of the Estonian national awakening that have not been nurtured since then. The awakened flowers of the meadow can confidently raise their heads towards the sun and sing themselves visible through their creativity!”

Participating artists: Johanna Rannu, Kärt Heinvere, Eleri Muhkel, Nils J. Rammo, Lily Tilk, Nana Schilf, Pavel Dodatko, Helena Pass.

The exhibition will be on display at Aparaaditehas Balcony Gallery (rõdugalerii) from 15.06.23-09.

07.23 and open from Wed-Sun from 12pm – 6pm.
Visiting the gallery is free of charge.

The Balcony Gallery (rõdugalerii) is located above the Aparaat restaurant. The gallery can be accessed from door no. 7 both through the Fahrenheit 451 book room and directly from the second floor.

Human-centred design alone is no longer enough. To deal with the wicked problems of the 21st century and beyond, we need to explore new ways of building empathy and igniting creativity. 

Join us for our graduation project showcase and witness the outcomes of twelve designers’ half-a-year journeys as they explored various challenges and addressed sustainable development goals by pushing the limits of what interaction design can be.

SHOWCASE

At Yanu Robot Bar, Rotermanni 14

Open daily 7–10 June

Opening party 7. June at 19:00

Join the talented students behind the work and their mentors, play around with the prototypes and enjoy drinks, music and a night full of inspiration!

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

At EKA Main Auditorium, Põhja pst 7

Thursday, 8 June

Interactions within Ourselves

9:10 Alma Yareny Duriez Urías: Fiction of our dreams as a tool for collective imaginarium

10:00 Katrin Kirsikka Janelle Koskela: Wear my anger

10:50 Pietro Ercolino Vizzadelli Barcucci: A monkey in a spaceship

Interactions with People and Services

12:30 Natsumi Nonaka: Discursive Design for Critically Embodying Gendered Experiences in Japan’s New Graduate Recruitment Practices

13:20 Quinn Darby Feller: Mending Relationships: Repairing garments through playfulness and collaboration

14:10 Helen Staak: Supporting cardiology patients to be active participants in their communication and treatment process at the II Cardiology Department in North Estonia Medical Centre

Friday, 9 June

Interactions with Products

9:10 Görkem Bozkurt: Trinteract—an Open-source 3D Input Device for Navigating Digital Spaces

10:00 Thomas Hartnell: HempCentric—From Hemp Fields to Green Builds

10:50 Jakob Päll: Ordinary drives in extraordinary ways—How to enhance the experience of a daily commute drive with a smart scenario for a Volvo car?

Interactions with Systems

12:30 Külliki Kesa: Estonian Packaging Design Guide—Creating Meaningful Interventions with the Help of Systemic Design

13:20 Paulina Juárez Badillo Chávez: The paradox of online identity verification

14:10 Sigmund Abou Chrouch: Uncovering biases in design research through Experiential Narratives

Come, join us in Yanu Robot Bar for the showcase, and in EKA for two days of inspiring presentations and discussions and learn about the latest trends in interaction design. 

FB: 

https://fb.me/e/3HzHy6lcp

On June 3, artist Britta Benno’s fictive space installation “Polar Wonder” will open in the Ice Age Center.

At Benno’s personal exhibition, it opens as an arctic oasis, with ice and landscape as the main characters, and the artist plays with forms and lines. The author’s drawing language expands into a multi-layered landscape abstraction in the exhibition.

The exhibition complements the so-called future floor of the Ice Age Center, which focuses on climate change and the environmental impact of human activity.

Britta Benno herself has described her exhibition as follows: “Drawings and graphics with a coolly glowing color palette wander in the plastic forms of ice, the openness of the image gives space for reflections and dreams. Mountains and landscapes are alive, mountains are the Inuit language. The North Pole belongs to dreams and creatures that flutter in all the layers of the earth. Ice in the form of our bouldery land, the weight of the mountains is still felt when walking on the ironed earth, the promises are still in the air.”

For the Ice Age Center, this exhibition has two meanings: through the artist, the beauty of the frozen landscapes unfolds, but at the same time, in terms of the environment, it is also important to point out that the melting of the ice fields has accelerated exponentially in recent years. The earth is changing and this is a big danger sign.

Although the exhibition called “Polar Dream” has traveled to Viljandi and Tallinn, the author prepared new works site-specifically for the Ice Age Center.

The artist thanks the animation director, Ragnar Neljandi, and the sculpture maker, Mai Eerik.

The exhibition is complemented by Juhan Vihterpal’s sound installation.

“Polar Wonder” will remain open until September 24.

Britta Benno (b. 1984) is a drawing and graphic artist. He is interested in different techniques and materials, and when they are juxtaposed and combined, new perspectives open up.

Benno graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a master’s degree in graphic arts and furthered his education at the Vienna Academy of Arts. Benno is studying art and design in the doctoral program of the Estonian Academy of Arts, her artist research is called  “Thinking in Layers, Worlding in Layers: Posthumanist Landscapes in the Extended Drawing and Printmaking” Artist website: www.brittabenno.com

Dear everyone,

we invite you to “Passing Tensators”, an exhibition created by a group of Erasmus students from EKA during the spring semester, supervised by  Johannes Luik.

The exhibition is the result of a continuous discourse and collection of ideas surrounding the specificity and underlying ideological contents of spaces. Due to the absence of a common mediality and functionality in
the practice among the individual students, the space itself generates the content and the formal aspects of the works.

Opening on Monday, 5. June at 18 h.
Open from 6. – 10. June 16 – 20 h.
Location: Manufaktuuri 5

We are looking forward to seeing you there!