According to Holm, the exhibition was inspired by the concert performance ” Kuuse lõhna täis on tuba“ („The Room is Full of the Smell of Spruce”) by the band Winny Puhh, for which the masks enriched with fantasy were made for the band members. From the desire to learn more about the art of mask-making and to use the face in her sculpture art, something more emerged due to the unpredictability of life. “Masquerade” is part of the side programme of the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture, the Arts of Survival, which, according to the author, also speaks about survival through her personal perspective. “The art of survival, in my opinion, is to deal with things during difficult moments that bring out laughter in oneself and others. Even if it is not considered good manners and there are many critics, do whatever you have to do to survive,” Õie Holm commented on the theme of the exhibition. “At the exhibition, I will show the audience a real death mask and talk about the experience of taking it, and I will raise the question of who I am or want to be at this current period of my life,” Holm added.
Õie Holm (b. 1992) graduated in 2018 from the Pallas University of Applied Sciences with a degree in sculpture and obtained a level five illustrator qualification in 2022. Holm is a member of the Tartu Artists’ Union. The “Masquerade” exhibition at the gallery Pallas is the artist’s second solo exhibition. “Masquerade” is open at the gallery Pallas (Riia 11, Tartu) until April 20.
Press photo: Õie Holm in her studio. Photo by Anni Julge.
