Mirjam Varik “Familiar Stranger”

You are warmly invited to the Pärnu PhotoFest opening marathon on 11 March, during which we will open nine photography exhibitions in succession! We begin at 3:00 PM at Nooruse Maja. 

At 7:00 PM, Mirjam Varik’s photography exhibition “Familiar Stranger” will open at the Pärnu City Gallery Artists’ House project space. You are welcome to attend!

The project deals with the meeting of generations through photographs and archival materials. It is a story about grandfathers who left and grandmothers who have stayed here, and how pictures, old letters and memories help to restore broken ties and understand the roots. We come from somewhere, we are like or resemble someone.

Family history is never unambiguous — each new discovery changes the understanding of the past. The wars of the last century and the Iron Curtain severed ties in many families: some stayed here, others were sent away or fled abroad, leaving behind only vague memories. Silence became a part of everyday life — not everything was talked about. Children were not supposed to know everything, and even less so grandchildren.

A meeting with a previously unknown relative living in America reveals past decisions, departures and new beginnings. Choices made several generations ago now open up new layers of cultural and identity-related meaning.

Mirjam Varik (b. 1990) studied photography at the Tartu Art College (2014) and as an exchange student at the University of Art and Design Linz. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts with a BA in graphic design (2021) and later completed an MA in contemporary art (2024). In her artistic practice, Varik articulates seemingly insignificant moments that have a lasting impact on personal formation. Through photography, video, and installation, she explores childhood experiences and identity in a narrative manner, focusing on memories, places, and phenomena.

Thanks: Filipp Varik, Marge Monko, Sandra Ernits, Tanja Muravskaja, Martin Pedanik, Eri Rääsk, Sarah Nõmm, Siim Preiman, EKA graphic art department.

The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment of Estonian.