06.05.–26.06.2022
“Mändfulness” at Vana-Võromaa Culture Centre in collaboration with Tallinn Art Hall
Pine-fulness group exhibition will open from 7 May in the gallery of Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre. The exhibition deals with the relationship between Estonians and their natural environment. Using bitter humour and sustainable gestures, it attempts to raise awareness of the impact of today’s actions on our dream future.
The participating artists are Eike Eplik, Olimar Kallas, Reet Kasesalu, Jan Lütjohann, Georgi Markelov, Mall Nukke, Hanna Samoson and Johannes Säre. The curator of the exhibition is Siim Preiman.
You are welcome to the opening of the exhibition on 6 May at 6 pm in the gallery of Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre!
For years there has been a public conflict in Estonia, which the media has variously dubbed “the forest dispute”, “forest polemics” and even “the forest war”. To put it simply: on one side in this conflict are those who think that too much forest is being harvested, while on the other side are those who are in favour of the current situation. How can it be that the forest war wages on and on, with no end in sight? Aren’t Estonians supposed to be forest people?
Although the image of the forest people may seem unique to Estonians, it has in fact only taken shape in the last few decades. A national identity that values nature, combined with environmentally-friendly customs, could be one of the antidotes to an increasingly urgent ecological crisis. Unfortunately, the unwavering faith of Estonians in their own closeness to nature does not allow us to notice the real environmental problems around us.
“This exhibition, with its title borrowed from Valdur Mikita, is a collective sketch of the Estonian identity, landscape, shallow soulfulness and national greenwashing,” says Siim Preiman, the curator of the exhibition. He continues: “Although the exhibition began as a cunning comedy, following the course of Estonian nature, it has now become a desperate tragedy. Even so, art still has the potential to be somewhat of an impartial mediator in dealing with complex and controversial topics. Provided, of course, that we look beneath the surface.”
The exhibition, which took place for the first time last autumn in Tallinn City Gallery, is part of Tallinn Art Hall’s ongoing exhibition series, which pays special attention both to the possibility of being good and to ecological responsibility in conditions of certain destruction. The series is an institutional attempt to find an ethically suitable platform for dealing with burning issues. Therefore, we have excluded all single-use materials from the standard ‘toolkit’ of a contemporary art exhibition, using as few materials as possible – and only things found on site.
“We are extremely pleased that this exhibition is travelling to Võru and will lay the foundation for future collaborations with other exhibition venues,” says Stella Mõttus, gallerist at the Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre. “As the forest is such a fundamental part of people’s daily lives in south-eastern Estonia, the exhibition is all the more relevant for all locals whose home areas have been increasingly cleared of forest over the years,” the gallerist adds.
Curatorial tours in Estonian with Siim Preiman will take place at the exhibition on 8 May at 3 pm and on 12 June at 2.30 pm.
On 12 June, a free art bus will drive to Võru from Tallinn and from Tartu. Further information about the bus will be published on the exhibition’s Facebook page.
The exhibition will be open until 26 June.
We would like to thank the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Film Institute, HAUS Gallery, Liisi Põllumaa, Mirjam and Katrin Reili, Gert Tiivas, Tanel Asmer, Lauri Kütt, Indrek Kits and Jaan Škerin.
Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre is open from Wednesday to Sunday 10.00-18.00. A visit to the museum and gallery is €2 for pupils, €3 for students and pensioners, and €4 for adults.
Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre brings together Võrumaa Museum, which was opened in 1983, and the art gallery.
www.vorumuuseum.ee
www.facebook.com/vanavoromaakultuurikoda/
www.instagram.com/vanavoromaakultuurikoda/
Tallinn Art Hall Foundation is a contemporary art establishment that presents exhibitions in three galleries on the central square of Tallinn – at Tallinn Art Hall and nearby at Tallinn City Gallery and Art Hall Gallery.
www.kunstihoone.ee
www.facebook.com/TallinnaKunstihoone/
www.instagram.com/tallinnarthall/
Further information
Stella Mõttus
+372 55 999 609
stella.mottus@wi.ee
Madli Ehasalu
+372 5621 8422
madli@kunstihoone.ee
