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FRAGILE CHAINS

Ulrika Paemurru plays with the image of the chain, but through her chosen material – clay – takes away the shackling function of this symbol.

Dark heavy chains bring to mind imprisonment, damp shadowy catacombs, oppressive obligations, stagnation and limitations. At the same time a chain is also the symbol for security, unity and togetherness, an unbreakable spiritual bond. These impressions seem to be in opposition, but they have actually grown out of the same fear and desire: we wish to live in a safe world. We have a chain to keep the enemy locked away and a chain to keep everything dear close to us. Only, sometimes you might discover that you yourself have become the prisoner – when you are seen as dangerous by others or perhaps when you are chained by obligations and love somewhere where you feel trapped.

Visually akin to worn and twisted iron chains, the works feel heavy and unyielding. Immovable. Unchanging. But clay makes the connections fragile and the mess of links becomes easy to bear. By choosing an unexpected material the author wants to shake this absolute certainty that we simultaneously fear and wish for. To bring a little hope to those who are drowning in the ocean of their responsibilities or suffocating under heavy restrictions, but also care and caution to those who are currently feeling deceptively confident…

The works in the exhibition are a further development of the authors BA final project at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and special thanks are reserved for the supervisors of the original project: Nils Hint, Piret Hirv, Urmas Lüüs and Eve Margus-Villems. 

Ulrika Paemurru (1989) is currently an MA student at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and has also studied at HEAR in Strasbourg and at the studio of Ruudt Peters in Amsterdam. Ulrika Paemurru has exhibited in group-shows in Estonia, Italy and online. “Fragile Chains” is her first solo show. In her artistic practice Ulrika Paemurru is interested in the small conflicts that surround safety, power and superstition, where through the element of fear emotionally very different ideas can come together. 

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GAGAAT

Nikolai Balabin’s artistic work is material-based in nature. The character of the work is created in dialogue with the material. He connects different materials, pieces, which together create a new whole – character, picture, landscape, stage of life. He creates poetic images by materializing his dreams, thoughts, impressions and memories. 

Balabin believes that jet is one of the most inspiring materials in jewellery-making. “My work with jet consists of breaking and assembling. After splitting a big piece of jet into many pieces, I start looking for shapes that start talking about themselves. I listen to them attentively and start a dialogue with them. They suggest to me their stories, to which I may add my own interpretations. One of the fascinating characteristics of jet is that when it splits, it forms unique shapes and textures. Sanding creates black, silky and warm matte surfaces. When working with jet, its structure often defines the character of the work. I utilize the natural block surface of jet and combine other materials with it.” 

Today jet is a rare material in jewelry art. It is petrified coniferous wood from the Jurassic period. It is one of the most ancient gemstones – the tomb finds of the first simple jet objects date from the 15-14th centuries BC. 

Nikolai Balabin is a certified architect, having graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1991). He later graduated from the College of Crafts and Design in Lappeenranta, Finland, with a specialisation in jewellery-making and stonework design (1996). Since 2000 he has organised 22 solo exhibitions in the Nordic and Baltic countries and Russia and since 1996, participated in 186 group exhibitions in Europe. Balabin has worked as a curator and received several awards. His work can be found in public collections such as the collection of The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Collection of Finnish State Art Commission, and private collections worldwide.