Art—whether documentary or staged—creates a space for addressing subjects that social norms often struggle to contain. When human experience turns toward despair, art need not retreat from reality; instead, it can acknowledge and share it. In such moments, the function of art is no longer merely representational but becomes a practice of solidarity, creating a shared space in which we recognise that we are experiencing the same condition.
In a climate shaped by the fear of war, waiting becomes an existential experience. It is a waiting not only for political intervention but also for clarity, direction, and meaning. Anxiety begins to infiltrate everyday life, stagnating economies, shaping political discourse, and disrupting long-term plans. Fear ceases to be a temporary reaction and becomes a constant background condition, producing alienation and uncertainty.
As a member of NATO, Estonia shares a border with Russia. In the context of this exhibition, the counties along this border are historically and culturally sensitive regions. Border theory helps explain why waiting and anxiety are inherent to life at the border. A border is not merely a peripheral line on a map but an active threshold where political tensions, cultural encounters, and historical memories intersect.
People living in border regions often operate within multiple cultural logics simultaneously, experiencing both belonging and non-belonging. The visual inquiries presented in this exhibition explore this condition, suggesting that the suspended state of waiting is not purely isolating but can also produce encounters, negotiations, and new cultural formations.
Luca Berti documents Setomaa and the Seto people, a community in southern Estonia whose strong regional identity persists despite broad assimilation into Estonian national culture. While integrated into everyday Estonian life, the community continues to practice its language and customs. His recent photobook Vana ja vahtsõnõ Setomaa (Old and New Setomaa, 2026), produced in collaboration with the Setomaa Museums, reflects this ongoing cultural continuity.
Raphaël Gianelli-Meriano examines identities shaped by Soviet-era industrial migration, particularly in Ida-Viru County. His visual research explores the infrastructural remains and inhabitants of empire and the tensions surrounding integration policies, where the Russian-speaking community is often perceived as an alternative collective identity whose historical trauma remains politically contested.
Anthony Haughey’s project traces its origins to 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell while he was studying film in Katowice. Over the past thirty-five years Europe has been profoundly reshaped: former Eastern Bloc countries have joined an expanded European Union, while NATO has extended across the continent, redefining political alliances, security narratives, and collective identity. This shifting landscape forms the background of his work, examining how a restless past continues to move through the present.
Curator: Kaisa Eiche.
Public programme in Gallery Pallas:
Public artist tour at the opening on March 19, around 5:30 PM by Anthony Haughey and Raphaël Gianelli-Meriano
Public book presentation and artist talk on March 26, at 5 PM by Luca Berti and Setomaa Museums
Public artist talk on April 15 at 5 PM by Raphaël Gianelli-Meriano
Supported by Pallas UAS, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Setomaa Muuseumid.
