Mirjam Varik’s and Juulia Aleksandra Mikson’s exhibition focuses on a landscape familiar to both artists: Matsalu. Together, they observe the quiet movement of nature, which may, at first glance, appear to be a state of stillness. A flower grows in the garden bed, junipers spread along the edge of the meadow, a cloud lingers in the sky, and visible movement has come to a halt as the stillness of summer takes hold.
Both Varik and Mikson work with the medium of screen printing. They depict nature as a marker of time and space, weaving the local heritage of the Matsalu region through generations. The environment from which we have come and into which we disappear is only like this for a moment, until a ray of sunlight flashes from beyond the clouds and the Earth is once again different. The relief-like images, both in clay and on paper, refer to forms characteristic of Matsalu: clayey soil and the wind-exposed landscape, where views of the clouds are in constant flux. On the one hand, the surroundings are in perpetual transformation; on the other, they may seem uneventful to the human observer. In such a place, adaptation begins only when the viewer merges with the environment and learns to sense its natural rhythm.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Mirjam Varik (1990) studied photography at the Tartu Art College (2014) and as an exchange student at the University of Arts Linz. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a degree in Graphic Design (2021), followed by a Master’s degree in Contemporary Art (2024). Since 2023, she has worked with screen-printing in the Department of Printmaking.
In her artistic practice, Varik articulates seemingly insignificant moments that have a lasting impact on the formation of a person. Through photography, video and installation, she explores childhood experiences and identity in a narrative manner, focusing on memories, places and phenomena.
Juulia Aleksandra Mikson (1998) studied Textile Design at the Estonian Academy of Arts (2022). She has also furthered her studies in fashion and styling in Cyprus and at a plant-dyeing laboratory in Italy. She completed her Master’s degree in Craft Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts (2025). Since 2022, she has worked as a screen-printing studio technician in the Department of Textile Design.
Juulia Aleksandra Mikson is a textile artist who explores the boundaries between materials. Her working process stems from the properties of the material, allowing the material itself to become a guide that shapes the dynamics of creation. In her liminal practice, she has combined textiles with clay as well as metal with textiles, discovering new layers in the relationships between materials. For Mikson, themes concerning the relationships between humans, the Earth and nature are of particular importance.
Graphic design: Martin Pedanik
With thanks to: EKA Department of Textile Design, EKA Department of Printmaking, Craftrag, Martin Mikson
Supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Põhjala Brewery