Sirja-Liisa Eelma “Postcard in five pictures”

“Postcard in Five Pictures” is an insight into the moods and observations framing the artist’s work process during the incubation phase of creating a work of art – the painting series “Write Your Own / Your Name”. The story, based on diary notes, follows the daily life of the artist residing in France. The walks of the self-made in different environments seem to be his main way to prepare himself for the act of making paintings. The artist’s studio is both a concrete physical space and an imaginary space in his head. The state of the studio, alternating in the background or in the foreground, is always with the artist, whether he is asleep or obvious; in an exhibition hall, market place or train station. The few minutes of the video narrative, “Arrival”, “Carousel”, “Beauty”, “Food” and “Nukrus” form an ever-restarting series of images. The chapter of the story “Carousel” could be a metaphor for repeated activities and Sirja-Liisa Eelma’s painting practice. Since the series “Emptying Field of Meaning” (2013), the artist has consistently developed a style of painting whose works are based on the continuous repetition of one image and very slow change.

Sirja-Liisa Eelma (b. 1973) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a degree in painting in 1996 and has been working as a painter since then. She has had more than twenty solo exhibitions, in addition to performances at group and curated exhibitions in Estonia and abroad. At the same time, the artist’s earlier work includes several fixed and socially sensitive art projects. Balanced by the interaction of Eelma’s image approach, conceptual thought and painting-technical demands, the work has been focusing on expectations and opportunities related to hidden or only conceivable objects for years.
Since 2018, Sirja-Liisa Eelma has been a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts. In her creative study “The Paradox of Emptiness. Painting practice, until the state surrounding the (exhibition) space is changed ”Eelma discusses the relationship between painting as a material-centric method and the pictorial effect seeking ephemeris.
In 2016, Sirja-Liisa Eelma’s work was recognized with the Konrad Mägi medal and award. In addition to private collections, her works also belong to the collection of the Estonian Art Museum.

Tõnis Jürgens gave the editing and voice to the video postcards.

The artist thanks: Tamara Luuk, Toomas Jürgens, Tõnis Jürgens, Kaarel Eelma, Aksel Haagensen, Maris Karjatse, Otto Ojaste, Ulvi Haagensen, Kulla Laas (EAA photo department), Kaupo Reisenbuk (Datel AS).

The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.

The exhibitions in the Hop Gallery are supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Estonian Cultural Endowment and Liviko AS.