Distracting the workers / Töölisi peibutades, 2019
a window exhibition, Trepigalerii, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn
The title of the show is in part a response to the German art critic Julius Meier-Graefe’s concern about art that is decorative, accusing it of being like a “gentle little housewife” merely distracting “tired people after a hard day’s work”. The Estonian Academy of the Arts building was once a sock factory and I decided that that is precisely what I would do – distract the workers, both the one-time factory workers and the people working in the current day art academy.
Working on the line between art and everyday life, with an emphasis on the practices of art-making and domestic cleaning, I focus on the places where art and life meet to try to find out what the lines, overlaps and resulting ambiguities look and feel like. I have three imaginary characters helping me – an artist-cleaner, an artist-researcher and an artist-bricoleuse. This installation is a view into our imaginary studio.
Working on the line between art and everyday life, with an emphasis on the practices of art-making and domestic cleaning, I focus on the places where art and life meet to try to find out what the lines, overlaps and resulting ambiguities look and feel like. I have three imaginary characters helping me – an artist-cleaner, an artist-researcher and an artist-bricoleuse. This installation is a view into our imaginary studio.