20.10.18 - 28.10.18.VI Artishok Biennial
Curator: Sten Ojavee
Natural materials sealed in plastics.
Leaves 59°24’32.8”N 24°44’04.5”E
Pine bark 59°23’57.7”N 24°43’50.4”E
Grass 59°24’03.7”N 24°44’01.3”E
Sand 59°21’57.2”N 24°43’49.5”E
Stones 59°20’47.0”N 24°42’25.7”E
Flowers 59°24’48.7”N 24°44’03.0”E
VI Artishok Biennal took place in the previous passenger terminal of the Baltic railway station in Tallinn. For curator Sten Ojavee (Centre for Contemporary Arts Estonia), the main aim of the exhibition was to offer a critical approach to contemporary ideas about national identity and to offer different viewpoints on interpreting contemporary nationalism through fashion. All participating artists created two sets of works that were presented over eight days alongside texts by nine writers written specifically about the works. One starting point of VI AB as an exhibition of contemporary fashion was Anu Hint’s fashion project “I am Estonian” which has been exhibited in dozens of different countries. According to the Estonian Association of Fashion Designers, the exhibition includes the most Estonian-like fashion design and a national style and contains “non-multicultural” continuity. The VI AB aimed to challenge such closed perceptions of nationality and national fashion, to reflect the diversity of contemporary nationalism and to propose contemporary fashion that focuses on the national but not inside a closed and deterministic system.
Photos: Dénes Farkas, Laivi
