Jewellery exhibition at the museum's attic space defies gravity

An exhibition showcasing the jewellery-making art of the õhuLoss group is set to open in the attic space of the University of Tartu Museum. Entitled ‘õhuLoss: God be with you, gravity’, it features works by Kadri Mälk, Tanel Veenre, Piret Hirv, Eve Margus, Kristiina Laurits and Villu Plink.

The stunning setting of the attic space in Tartu Cathedral made it the ideal venue for the exhibition, although the choice was also influenced by an historical event: this was the site in February 1525 of Estonia’s biggest ever art heist, led by one Melchior Hoffmann, as explained in the exhibition texts by art historian Merike Kurisoo.

“In our 25th anniversary year, õhuLoss is finally touching down in Tartu as well,” remarked Tanel Veenre. “Since relating to the space we’re in is very important to us, our encounter with the University of Tartu Museum in the former attic space of the cathedral is enormously meaningful. You might even say that it was love at first sight.”

The latest works of five of the artists were inspired by the meaning emerging from the intersection of art and looting, belief and impression, history and mortality. For instance, the pieces by Eve Margus deal with an ‘internal art heist’ – the destruction of the old self-image and the creation of a new one – and seeks an answer to the question of how to move on when you reject the old but are unable to embrace the new. Elsewhere, Tanel Veenre’s works fuse the meanings of Christian culture, synthesising authentic ancient artworks and ‘black holes’ made from ebony, while Kristiina Laurits scales the ruins of her personal jewellery, inspired by the flawed details and symbolic decay around her.

The jewellery artist and teacher who started the õhuLoss group, Kadri Mälk, passed away in early 2023, but her presence is reflected in the title of the exhibition: ‘God be with you, gravity’. One of the pieces of jewellery created by Mälk bears the same name. The attic space in Tartu Cathedral brings new meaning to defying gravity in that the works of the õhuLoss group – whose name means ‘castle in the air’ – have never been closer to heaven.

The group’s first exhibition was held in the rooftop space of Galerie Marzee in the Netherlands in 1999. Their work has since been showcased in Spain, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Hungary, France, Israel, China and Latvia, and of course also in Estonia: at Rakvere Museum in 2001, Tallinn Lower Lighthouse in 2011, Evald Okas Museum in Haapsalu in 2015 and Maarjamäe Palace of the Estonian History Museum in Tallinn in 2018.

The exhibition is being supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the University of Tartu Museum. It will be open from 24 August- 27 October and form part of the further programme for Tartu’s year as European Capital of Culture.