Artist Talk: Duncan Wooldridge “Encounters with Photographic Materialities”

Artist and writer Duncan Wooldridge will hold an open artist talk “Encounters with Photographic Materialities: From the Infra-thin to the Stickiness of the Image” at 18:00 on Wednesday, November 5th, 2025 in room A501 at EKA.

Wooldridge is curating the group exhibition “Sensing Matter: From Infra-thin to Photographic Object” which opens on November 6 at the Punctum Gallery, Tallinn.
https://punctum.ee/exhibitions/sensing-matter-from-the-infra-thin-to-the-photographic-object

Duncan Wooldridge is an artist and writer, and is Reader in Photography in the School of Digital Arts, Manchester School of Art, MMU. His research spans photographic materiality, experimental photography and conceptual art, the photograph’s future tense, and the stickiness of images. He is the author of ‘To Be Determined: Photography and the Future’ (2021, SPBH/MACK), and the co-editor with Lucy Soutter of ‘The Routledge Companion to Global Photographies’ (2025, Routledge) and ‘Writer Conversations’ (2023, 1000 Words), as well as the editor with Ana Casas Broda and Anshika Varma of ‘Photobook Conversations’ (2025, 1000 Words) He is also the editor of the forthcoming ‘Written Up/Written Down: The Selected Writings of John Hilliard (2026, MACK).

On November 4 at 16:00 in room A101, Sergio Dávila will give a public lecture titled “Biosemiotics, Otherness, and the Ontological Turn”. The lecture is part of the Faculty of Design’s public lecture series “Public Lectures in Design: Adjusting Perspectives,” curated by Stella Runnel and Taavi Hallimäe.

Humanity faces a profound ecological and civilizational crisis that is not only environmental but also symbolic and ontological. Modern urban development and governance, driven by extractivist logics and capital accumulation, have treated the living world as a backdrop for human progress, erasing reciprocity with other forms of life. This prevailing anthropocentric worldview, placing humans and the economy at the center, has led to climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and social alienation. In contrast, an alternative ecocentric paradigm is germinating, one that seeks not dominance but coexistence.

Biophilic governance is proposed as a framework for this transformative shift. Biophilic denotes an orientation of deep interdependence and care among all life, while governance here refers not merely to institutions and laws but to the collective practices, rituals, and decisions that shape our relationships with the living world. Biophilic governance is, in essence, a politics of making-with Earth, a practice of coexistence that extends care, communication, and even representation beyond the human realm. It aligns with Donna Haraway’s notion of sympoiesis (“making-with”) and Escobar’s call for ontological design, both of which advocate redefining human–nature relations in terms of interdependence rather than domination. It resonates as well with Bayo Akómoláfé’s provocative call for an “ontological mutiny,” a rebellion at the level of being, through which humanity might unlearn its delusions of separateness and experiment with new forms of earthly belonging.

This talk will be a place for sharing ideas about the spirit of our era. A positive view as a stand of resistance against cynicism, ecological anxiety, and despair. Participants will review some cases of biophilic governance and then be guided to develop their own public policies, strategies, actions, and proposals for public space as radical collaboration with other earth-beings.

The public lectures are open to students, faculty, as well as anyone else interested in design!

Sergio Dávila is a PhD candidate in Urban Studies at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City and an exchange researcher at the Estonian Academy of Arts. His work explores how cities can become spaces of coexistence between humans and other species through biophilic design, participatory processes, and creative governance. As a researcher, teacher, and frequent conference speaker, Sergio bridges design, ecology, and politics to imagine more-than-human futures for our urban environments.

Duo exhibition “Shared” by Brenda Purtsak & Marleen Suvi
ArtDepoo Gallery 7.11.–13.12.2025
Open Wed–Fir 12–6 pm Sat 12–4 pm, free entry
Opening: Thursday, November 6 at 6 pm

ArtDepoo gallery will be the first to present the new large format paintings jointly created by Purtsak and Suvi. While choosing the reference materials for the paintings the artists noticed the recurring themes in photographs of different families: “We took the photo archives of all three of our families as a basis and focused primarily on figures. We quickly noticed how we all have photos of similar situations and although the characters are unique, the material repeats itself,” adds curator Kaisa Maasik.

An unconventional process was chosen for creating the paintings, one that required Purtsak and Suvi to stay flexible within their already established styles. The works were created collaboratively by both artists taking turns: several exchanges were made for each painting, while the artists constantly shared photos of the current states and discussed which directions to take moving forward. The paintings were completed together in the gallery. Since the reference material varied – sometimes being double-exposed or full of activity, sometimes being unexpected and minimal– it allowed the artists to either generalize, leave more empty spaces on the surfaces, or add more detail and density. Throughout, the artists had to intervene in the reference material and merge their own personal handwritings.

The artists will be at the gallery on two Saturdays, November 15 and 29. During this time, everyone is welcome to come and chat and ask additional questions about the exhibition.

Artists: Brenda Purtsak & Marleen Suvi
Curated by: Kaisa Maasik
Graphic Design by: Aimur Takk
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

PoCo invites you to discover the sensitive and colorful world of young artist Marit Loitmets, where gentle nostalgia and the charm of being in the moment are captured.

Marit Loitmets (born in 2004) is a painter from Estonia, currently studying Painting in the third year of her Bachelor’s degree at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
At the core of her artistic practice lies the human being – with their natural details, fragments of forgotten objects, and the mystical nostalgia of the past. Loitmets’s work is characterised by a strong sense of colour, vivid contrasts, and a harmonious interplay of surfaces that create visual depth.

With this exhibition, the artist seeks to tell a nostalgic story – a view from a window where a hopeful ray of sunlight always shines through. In addition, she has explored lace pattern designs, translating their delicate aesthetic into a new medium and presenting them with a fresh visual interpretation.

PoCo invites you to explore the sensitive and colourful work of young artist Marit Loitmets. Her artwork captures gentle nostalgia and the beauty of being in the moment.

Everyone is welcome to join, pre-registration is needed.

The year 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of Michel Sittow’s death in his hometown of Reval (now Tallinn). Sittow’s life, career, and œuvre exemplify how, in the Late Medieval and Early Modern world, professional mobility was no less significant than it is today. The seminar aims to explore the international visual and political contexts surrounding Sittow in order to better understand his experiences within the artistic production and visual culture of late fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Europe.

The seminar brings together early-career and established scholars from various fields, including history, art history, visual culture studies, and artwork restoration and conservation. It offers an academic forum for discussing the background of Michel Sittow’s life and works and their international reception.

Programme
Registration form for the attendees (open until 28.11.2025): https://forms.gle/ZHFFD3W35ms5oeYJ6

Organisers: Oskar J. Rojewski (University of Silesia), Anneli Randla (EKA), Anu Mänd (TÜ)

ARS Project Space
24.10.–15.11.2025
Mon–Fri 12:00–18:00, Sat 12:00–16:00

Exhibition opening: Friday, 24 October at 18:00

Sten Saarits’ solo exhibition ‘Absentia’ presents a trilogy of video works: The Wait (2020), The Stream (2022), and The Browse (2023), all connected by a sense of tension. A person no longer recognizes their world – they observe it, not with the curiosity of the first inhabitant of a new planet, but as a shadow of former glory who has given up on existence.

In Saarits’ works, we find ourselves in the spaces of contemporary life. The cold, alienating places where one can feel lonely even in the company of others. A fleeting friendly glance has been replaced by an awkward search of avoiding direct eye contact. Instead of a spontaneous and likely refreshing conversation, the hand instinctively reaches for the phone.

Saarits is a documentary maker who takes his camera for a walk. He captures the post-apocalyptic qualities of our surroundings. Such as an empty bus stop, a nighttime highway, an autumn field – yet within his frames there remains a palpable human warmth and a sincere concern for his subjects.

Sten Saarits (b. 1987) is an interdisciplinary artist from Estonia whose practice is rooted in time based media. Saarits frequently integrates abstract sound compositions ranging from spoken word to auditory signifiers into his installation practice, thereby creating participatory and spatial experiences. His artistic research often addresses phenomena of overstimulation and situational uncertainty as characteristic aspects of present day society.

He has studied sound art (MA) and installation and sculpture (BA) in Estonian Academy of Arts. During the years of 2013–2014 he studied in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where his curriculum focused on sound art, performance and film. Saarits has shown his work in Estonia, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, France and Lithuania. He currently serves as Head of the Department of New Media Arts at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Graphic design: Kert Viiart-Õllek
Text: Peeter Kormašov
Installation assistance: Ian Simon Märjama
Artist wants to thank: Egle Ehtjen, Erko Ever, Ian Simon Märjama, Kalev Saage, Kristjan Koskor, Madli Kadakas, Markus Tiitus, Mart Joost, Martin Loik, Natalia Wójcik, Tarvo Varres, Tiina Vändre, Mirjam Proos, Sven Sosnitski, Janno Lepind, Kelli Gedvil, Hanna-Liisa Lavonen, Alo Suursaar, Carmen Kalata, Kati Müüripeal, Kristen Rästas, Heini Kiis, Lauri Aksel.
Exhibition supported by: Estonian Artists’ Association and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia

The First Peer-Reviewed Project of Doctoral Theses “Playing with Fire: Possibilities for Designing Four-Dimensional Gemstones by Combining Traditional Faceting and Free-Form Engraving. Time as a Design Element.”

Travelling Light. A Study on the Movement of Light in Experimentally Cut Gemstones.
Exhibition at the Library of the Estonian Academy Of Arts  21 Oct.- 4 Nov. 2025

Peer-review: 4 Nov. 2025 12:00 at the EKA Library

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Krista Kodres
Peer-Reviewers: Prof. Dr. Virve Sarapik and Prof. Theo Smeets (Trier University of Applied Sciences)

The starting point of this doctoral research is the hypothesis that by combining traditional faceting with free-form carving, it is possible to create innovative reflection patterns within gemstones  – patterns that can be experienced not only in space but also in time. The creative research explores how to make jewelry four-dimensional by consciously using time as a design element, presenting jewels not as static objects but as dynamic works in continuous transformation. Reflection from curved surfaces enables the smooth modulation of reflected light intensity, linking rhythms into a fluid, variable whole.

This experiment provides an overview of the basic principles of faceting – refraction and reflection of light – through the combination of faceted and freeform elements. The aim is to demonstrate how individual reflective elements, through mutual interaction, form the brilliance of a gemstone. To illustrate the experiment, the exhibition held at the EKA Library presents, in addition to transparent test objects, both works in progress and completed jewellery set with cut gemstones.

We are opening the exhibition “Abandoned Landscapes. Joaveski Paper Factory” on October 31st at 3:00 PM at the Joaveski Community Center, at Lahemaa.

The exhibition presents projects and models by students of the EKA Architecture and Urban Design curriculum, which explore how to value and revitalize the historic Joaveski paper factory.

The Estonian Academy of Arts’ Faculty of Architecture and the Department of Heritage Protection and Conservation organized the interdisciplinary “Abandoned Landscapes” workshop for the fourteenth time at the beginning of this year, where efforts are being made to find modern solutions for disused building complexes. This year’s workshop, professional studio and exhibition were created in collaboration with the Joaveski Village NPO, which has taken it upon itself to value the abandoned paper factory as a landmark.

The authors of the completed projects are now 3rd year architecture and urban design students: Maria Johanna Ahtijainen, Oskar Toomet-Björck, Elisabeth Ersling, Nele Lisette Hera, Heidi Jagus, Katariina Klammer, Eliis Kurvits, Lilian Källo, Lisandra Lipp, Marie Elle Melioranski, Mark Metsa, Mart Nael, Joonas Ott, Elenor Pihlak, Harriet Piirmets, Robin Pints, Elisabeth Tomingas, Katariina Vaher, Aliis Vatku, Martin Vatku.

The projects were supervised by architects Joel Kopli, Koit Ojaliiv and Juhan Rohtla from the architectural office KUU, advised by LCA consultant Anni Oviir, and the landscape architecture section was supervised by Katrin Koov and Arvi Anderson. Andres Õis welcomed and introduced the history of Joaveski.

The exhibition is supported by MTÜ Joaveski küla and AS Maru.

The exhibition will remain open at the Joaveski community center during library opening hours until April 1, 2026. Open Monday and Friday 9:00 – 16:00 and Wednesday 11:00 – 15:00.

About the history of the Joaveski factory

The construction of the Joaveski cardboard factory began in 1899 and is a vivid example of how the feudal Loobu manor adapted to the new capitalist economic environment at the end of the 19th century, which resulted in the establishment of an industrial enterprise. Joaveski developed into a small industrial village in a place of natural beauty. Today, a hydroelectric power plant operates at the heart of the factory, but most of the rooms have lost their purpose.

Merike Estna’s solo exhibition “Ocean” in the large gallery of the Tartu Art House. The curator of the exhibition is Maria Arusoo.

At the core of the exhibition “Ocean” lies the existential coexistence of life and death, as seen through the perspective of motherhood. Merike Estna looks at the experience of motherhood in a complex and sensitive way. Alongside oceanic happiness and love, pain and loss are equally present, themes that are often brushed aside when talking about birth and motherhood but are very much present regardless. 

“Birth as a theme appeared in Estna’s work after her son was born and over the last four years it has become a central axis in her work. At first, it appeared as a prophetic ghost in a painting, created while the artist herself was not yet aware of her pregnancy and from there, it has grown and expanded. Estna is equally interested in the art historical view on the experience of motherhood. Another significant thematic thread running through the exhibition is the question of living painting – how to awaken painting, a rather static and hierarchical object, and make it communicate with the viewer – something Estna has been focusing on for more than a decade by now. At the Tartu Art House exhibition, visitors can witness the process of painting the five-part monumental work “Ocean” as the artist works on it every Tuesday. The painting is not intended to be completed but will be continuously added to during future exhibitions until the artist’s death, as Estna herself claims,” the curator explains.

Merike Estna (b. 1980) studied painting at the Estonian Academy of Arts (BA, 2005) and at Goldsmiths, University of London (MFA, 2009). She also graduated from the Tartu Art School (2000). Since 2025, she is the visiting professor in Contemporary Art MA at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Estna has received several prestigious Estonian art awards, including the Hansapank Art Award (2004), the Eduard Wiiralt Scholarship (2005) and the Konrad Mägi Award (2014). From 2017 to 2023, she was an Associate Professor at the Painting Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Between 2020 and 2022, Estna was one of the recipients of the Estonian artist’s salary. In 2026, Merike Estna will represent Estonia at the 61st Venice Biennale.

Estna has participated in international exhibitions across Europe, the United States and Latin America, including at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Querétaro in Mexico, Fundación Casa Wabi in Mexico, Publics in Helsinki, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Galería Karen Huber in Mexico, Bosse & Baum in London, Kunstraum in London, Galerie Georg Kargl in Vienna and Temnikova & Kasela Gallery in Tallinn. Her most notable solo exhibitions have taken place at Kai Art Center in Tallinn (2022), Moderna Museet Malmö (2019–2020), Kim? Contemporary Art Centre in Riga (2018) and KUMU Art Museum in Tallinn (2014).

Graphic designer: Martina Gofman
Translator: Keiu Krikmann

Support: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art

Thank you: Evelyn Raudsepp, Jaime Lobato, Aime Estna, Kõu Fortino Lobato Estna, Lumi Marisol Lobato Estna, Alma Cardoso, Jaime L. Hernández, Aleksander Tsapov

COMPOSE◠DECOMPOSE
EKA Gallery 31.10.–30.11.2025
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm
Opening: Thursday, October 30 at 6 pm
Performance by Albertina Tevajärvi: Thursday, October 30 at 6.30 pm
Tour guided by the curators and artists: Friday, October 31 at 5 pm

The exhibition “compose◠decompose” submerges deep into a cyclical narrative of growth, decay, and renewal. Through the works of thirteen artists, the exhibition traces along the fragile balance of care and control.

The exhibition brings to light the hidden and often overlooked elements of our ecosystem— microscopic creatures, plant matter and organic systems that thrive beneath the surface of our mundane. Here Composition and decomposition do not appear as opposites, but rather as entangled acts of shaping and unshaping, of tending and of letting go.

The participating artists work with various ways to either mimic- or closely collaborate with the processes of the natural world. In this exhibition the artists dream about composing and decomposing. They dream about listening to, remembering and reimagining narratives that collaborate with insects, animals, plants, and microorganisms.

Participating artists: Alexis Brancaz, Albertina Tevajärvi, Alma Bektas, Augustas Lapinskas & Ditiya Ferdous, Freyja Tralla & Kassandra Laur, Janne Schipper & Andreas Andersen, Johanna Rotko, Julie Sjöfn Gasiglia, Kamilė Pikelytė, Paula Zvane
Curated by artists Inessa Saarits and Victoria Björk
Graphic design: Daria Titova
Technical support: Karel Koplimets and Karmo Migur
Supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Icelandic Visual Arts Fund, Sadolin Estonia and Tallinn City.
Opening drinks from mirai™ and Põhjala Brewery.

Download the leaflet here.