An exhibition focusing on the period following the restoration of independence and the development of capitalism has opened at the Tartu Art Museum.
In newly independent Estonia, young artists sought their own voice amid the upheaval between the recently collapsed Soviet system and emerging capitalism.
Under the guidance of Peeter Linnap, a professor in the photography department at the Estonian Academy of Arts, a group of artists introduced Western-style photography and installation art to the local art scene.
The exhibition "['mobil] Gallery 30" brings together the few works from that time still surviving and wholly new works from former members of the group.
Exhibition coordinator Rene Kriisa said the group was a "very significant force" helping to bring the subject to the public and into public consciousness.
Even though they were "not necessarily the first to engage in photography or installation art in Estonia," he added.
Operating without a permanent exhibition space, the group improvised in various locations and experimented with the boundaries of freedom. One of the artists whose works are also on display at the exhibition was Mart Viljus.
"Looking back, you can reflect on that entire period. It was quite an interesting time and, in a sense, wild," he said. Viljus added that he was able to carry out projects and create works that would be quite difficult today.
"But there is nothing to be ashamed of in those works," Viljus noted. He added that what had been forbidden in art during the Soviet era was suddenly permitted, and artists began filling the newly liberated space with new symbols.
Armo Sepandi, a former student of Peeter Linnap, said the exhibition features photographs of Linnap climbing onto a monument and portraying himself as a hero.
"At that time, it was very significant when statues of Lenin were pulled down and their pedestals were left empty," he said. Linnap took advantage of this and became the new hero himself in Lenin's place, Sepandi explained.
The exhibition can be viewed at the Tartu Art Museum's Leaning House until the end of January 2027.
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