Artists Saara-Maria Kariranta, Hans Rosenström, Marit Mihklepp, Felipe de Ávila Franco, Alma Heikkilä, Hannah Mevis, Pia Arke, Juss Heinsalu, Manfred Dubov, Flora Reznik, Sissel Marie Tonn, Melanie Bonajo, Anne Noble, Nina Schuiki, Vera Anttila, Sepideh Ardalani, Sandra Kosorotova
Curator Saskia Lillepuu & Ann Mirjam Vaikla
Venue Narva Art Residency
All images Courtesy by the artists and Narva Art Residency. Photo Hedi Jaansoo
Ann Mirjam Vaikla (exhibition curator): The industrial era of Kreenholm has made us move in a tick-tock kind of choreography, where one works a certain number of hours a day, driven by effectiveness, acceleration and flawlessness. As a result, modern society, imbued with the idea of progress and driven by a desire for modernity, tends to reshape landscapes. As a consequence, it has forgotten what was there before.
Saskia Lillepuu (exhibition curator): But I am already an alien. About half the cells in human bodies are bacterial, and our non-human symbionts help us develop and stay alive, keep our immune and nervous systems functioning. They make “the human” possible. Without these others, these aliens, we would be “dead meat”. (…) I’ve been trying to wrap my body-mind around two parallel situations, two bodies/environments I inhabit – my uncomfortable body and the damaged planet.
Curators have worked with artists from Estonia and abroad, and several commissioned artworks have been developed over physical and virtual residencies. The exhibition catalogue includes essays by invited contributors Tanel Rander (curator and artist) and Kaja Tael (Ambassador at Large for Climate and Energy Policy).
The exhibition, supposed to open on April 24, will be accessible to the public from May 3, following the government’s decision to ease the coronavirus restrictions. We kindly ask the visitors to wear a mask.
The exhibition’s public programme starts in the second half of May, its focal part, an art film programme curated by artist and filmmaker Piibe Kolka, takes place on two nights in June.
The accompanying education programme, led by art educator Kerttu Juhkam, started last autumn. The young participants from Narva have now become the volunteers of NART, and will take the role of exhibition guides for the local audience. The exhibition is open until June 20.
