Cristopher Siniväli “the sacred feeling of…”

Sacredness usually sounds like something definite – a belief, symbol, or place set apart from the rest of the world. This exhibition, however, begins from a more fragile place: the feeling that something suddenly becomes meaningful, charged, untouchable, even when it is ordinary or impossible to describe in words.

The sense of intensity experienced in the exhibition presents sacredness not as a fixed definition, but rather as a field that circulates around objects. The protruding elements of the works evoke both protective armour and an energy field. Each form appears to hold or guard something—a memory, a body, a habit, a fantasy—yet their actual function remains open.

The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on, and remind themselves of, what feels sacred to them. Not in a grand or formal sense, but in the small ways certain objects, routines, and stories remain attached to us. Can something sacred exist only in reality, or does it exist solely in our imagination?

* Many of the ceramic works were created during an almost year-long ceramics internship in Berlin – a period that has shaped their forms and surfaces. In the exhibition, they are brought together in a new, altar-like constellation that makes room for both real and imagined sacred things.

Cristopher Siniväli (b. 1999) is a ceramic artist who received a Master’s degree in Design and Crafts from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2025. His artistic practice centres on creating non-functional ceramic compositions, drawing deeply on nature and personal emotions for inspiration. In recent years, he has also explored the relationship between the human body and ceramics, considering how form and presence affect both the viewer’s experience and the experience of wearing an object. His work creates connections between ceramics, fashion, and sculpture.

Thank you: ARS Ceramics Center, Estonian Artists’ Association, Vivarec, Bildhauerwerkstatt, Karksi, Fazer