Jüri Roosa (b. 1964 in Tallinn)
The Brezhnev era began in autumn 1964, I was born in the same year. For a child the conditions and time seem the only possibility, but now I recall the Estonian SSR of the seventies as quite foolish and false. Well, at places the same can be said to contemporary Estonia. OK, first three sentences already revealed that I am a whiner and pessimist, but not hopeless: a human being is generally capable for self-criticism and conscious development.
So I was born in the cultural sixties. Parents, especially my father, who was a scenographer, encouraged me to make art; I graduated from Tallinn 24th Secondary School, but youth is naturally a crazy time and instead of further studies I found myself on the curvy and sometimes dark paths of rock music, mainly all over the Soviet Union. In nineties I returned to Estonia and started making jewellery. Due to the lack of the “right” education I used any tools, materials and techniques. A little later my interest concentrated on slightly larger objects, but not too large, as I am a bit lazy for dealing with them. And to prevent happy end of the story: recently I had a dream of a fearsome 3D printer!- In the book “A-Gallery. Estonian art jewellery gallery for 20 years” (2014)
“I’ve been making watches for a long time, about 15 years. I am actually a tram electrician by training; I have not attended art university. I reaching this field via twisted paths. My father was the art director of the Estonia Theatre and tried to steer me, but I didn’t take the bait while in high school. I wasn’t interested, I did other things, such as rock music. But at some point, I became interested. I started off making small bracelets and other small items and it became my main activity over time. Once, a professional welder came into the gallery and said a piece was poorly welded; that it could be welded much better. Of course, he had no idea I had made the clocks.” – Jüri Roosa at the A-Gallery exhibition MEMORY CARDS (2019)
