Penitence at Draakon Gallery in Tallinn

2010
Solo exhibition at Draakon gallery in Tallinn
Press Release
Elin Kard, press release for the exhibition “Penitence” at Draakon Gallery, 15.12.2010-30.12.2010
Today, 14.12.2010 at 18:00, Sandra Jõgeva opens her solo exhibition “Penitence” at Draakon Gallery, along with the accompanying event programme.
According to Sandra Jõgeva, the exhibition is site- and time-specific, taking its theme from the period between Christmas and New Year and from its location right next door to Tallinn’s oldest café, “Maiasmokk”. Identifying with the keywords associated with this time of year — religion, charity and penitence — Jõgeva draws a kind of summary of her work to date. The exhibition brings together her own commentary on the various themes and stages she has passed through in her practice — an interest in different religious sects, and its connection to feminism. Looking back, Jõgeva herself calls these stages unavoidable and absolutely necessary. As a summing-up of this feminist discourse, an artist talk between the artist and art critic Rebeka Põldsam will take place on the exhibition’s final day, 30.12.2010 at 12:00.
An important part in the making of the exhibited works was played by what might be called a “moneyless economy”, or charity: in preparing the exhibition the artist drew on the help of friends and acquaintances, both in the form of objects and of favours, so the process of making the works ran on services rendered rather than money changing hands. Through the materials used, Jõgeva’s new sculptural installations also relate to the café “Maiasmokk” next door to the gallery.
The programme of stand-up tragedies accompanying the exhibition came about, curator Sandra Jõgeva explains, because having been forced to rent gallery space for the exhibition, she wanted to make full use of that rented gallery for the exhibition’s benefit. The programme consists mainly of short text-based stand-up tragedies performed by authors — mostly women — with backgrounds in visual art, philosophy, acrobatics and dance: Mai Sööt, Tiina Sööt, Kaia Otstak, Laineli Parrest, Veronika Vallimäe, Kai Kaljo, Epp Kubu, Katri Möldre and Hans-Gunther Lock. The list of performers is not final.
The exhibition remains open until 30.12.2010.
Thanks to: Eesti Kultuurkapital, Variant OÜ, Siidilabor, Krista Sokolova, Helis Külaots, Ene Jakobi, Aino Ingrid Sepp, Mai Sööt, Triinu Lille, Pirjo Ropponen, Liina Vedler, Heino Nurk, Meelis Süld, Anna-Stina Treumund, Damaso Reyes, Jaan Klõseiko, Tõnu Narro, Kaidi Tago-Tamm, Rene Reinumäe, Maigi Magnus, Meghan E Van Alstyne, Erik Alalooga, Tanel Saar, Liisa Past, Rebecca Strain, Ivo Särak.
Exhibitions at Draakon Gallery are supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.
Programme (subject to updates):
Thursday, 16.12.
16:30
Tiina Sööt
“A Declaration of Love”
17:00
Laineli Parrest
“15 Minutes with the Man of My Dreams”
Friday, 17.12.
17:00
Mai Sööt
“Miss M’s Pleasures and Sufferings”
Saturday, 18.12.
15:00
Sandra Jõgeva
“On an Estonian Sect”
15:30
Kai Kaljo
“On Weight Watching”
Kaia Otstak
“Anonymous Sect Member”
Wednesday, 22.12.
17:00
10 x 10 metres (Epp Kubu & Hans Gunter Lock)
“4 x 10”
Thursday, 23.12.
14:00
Veronika Vallimäe
“I Can’t Imagine”
Wednesday, 29.12.
Katri Möldre
“Voices from Far Away”
Thursday, 30.12.
17:00
Sandra Jõgeva
“Artist talk with Rebeka Põldsam”
Sandra Jõgeva (b. 1976) is an artist and curator who regularly contributes to periodicals. She has received the Annual Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s Visual and Applied Arts Fund (2004) and the Betti Alver Literary Award for her short story collection “Draamapunkt” (2009). Sandra Jõgeva has been a founding member of the art groups “Avangard” (2000–2006) and “Pink Punk” (2003–2006), and has exhibited as an artist in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Germany, Iceland, New Zealand and the United States. Sandra Jõgeva holds a bachelor’s degree in painting (2000) and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary arts (2002) from the Estonian Academy of Arts.
More recently her work has shifted toward sculpture and installation; she has created large gelatine female figures and other objects out of silicone, latex and caramel, experimenting with various non-traditional materials. Her art has been linked to gender themes, and she has drawn on her experience as a dominatrix in her work.
Sandra Jõgeva is one of the coordinators of the Kunstikonteiner (Art Container) space at the Culture Factory Polymer, where she is continually involved in compiling and coordinating the exhibition programme and preparing events such as the Global Container series. She also organises an ongoing series of literary meetings at Kunstikonteiner titled “One Worse Than the Other”.
Elin Kard