NOBA Nordic Baltic contemporary art platform

Underwater Priisle, 2025

By Britta Benno
 
62 x 64 cm

Framed.


Aquatint, etching.


The buildings and wastelands of Lasnamäe—its sprawling panel houses, worn footpaths and large puddles—form an important childhood landscape for Benno, a place where many dreams began. It is a kind of utopian city where new possibilities grow out of ugliness: a tree emerges from the mud, one can swim in puddles in dreams, and piles of snow transform into Alpine landscapes.


In this series the artist follows historical references from graphic art, particularly the uncanny, still-life-like views and picture-within-picture surreal spatial worlds found in the works of Urmas Ploomipuu.


The series combines new imagery (the photographs used in the works were recently taken by the artist) with a longing for an earlier world (the landscape and architecture remain the same as forty years ago), new technical approaches (laser engraving) with traditional printmaking (etching and aquatint), and real space with dreamlike environments. These symbioses shape both the process and the imagery of the series “In Dreams I See the Housing Estate.”


More art by this artist

Printmaking

Ruinenlust Lasnamäel III by Britta Benno
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel III  
36 x 48 cm
€310
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel IV by Britta Benno
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel IV  
36 x 45 cm
€310
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel V by Britta Benno
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel V  
36 x 45 cm
€310
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel VI by Britta Benno
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel VI  
36 x 45 cm
€310
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel VII by Britta Benno
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel VII  
50 x 58 cm
€460
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel VIII by Britta Benno
Ruinenlust Lasnamäel VIII  
55 x 69 cm
€540
Underground Hairdresser by Britta Benno
Underground Hairdresser  
62 x 64 cm
€1350