On January 19, Friday at 18:00, solo-exhibitions of artists Into Niilo and Kadi Kübarsepp will be opened on the WINDOWS of A-Galerii.
Into Niilo
|1984|
With their second solo exhibition in A-Galerii Into Niilo reflects on war propaganda and the concept of Newspeak portrayed in George Orwell’s politically critical dystopian novel 1984. The emigrated artist once based in Moscow now residing in Antwerp relates the novel with nowadays politics in the world and in particular with it in Russia. The project |1984| was made as a part of the MASieraad Master’s program, led by some of the most famous jewellery artists such as Ted Noten and Ruudt Peters.
The artwork combines objects – blocks, creating a unique puzzle. The blocks depicting words with opposite meanings pair up. They go together as a word with a bad connotation fits into the positive space of the other block and a word with a good undertone covers the first block’s positive space with its void. The artist developed a custom font so these materialized words would combine with each other. There are 2 sets of 4 pairs of these objects, either 3D printed with SLA or CNC cut into beech wood.
During the creative research Niilo understood that the pieces were driven by a quotation from the book 1984. In Orwell’s novel its fictional evil government states absurdly with the intent of brainwashing citizens that “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.”
The gallery shares the artists Into Niilo’s statement as follows:
Some people say “life before 24th of February and after”. I share this chronology. I hardly can recall the life before it, but I remember my feelings clearly after the full blown war against Ukraine had started: searing pain, despair and guilt because of a wrongful, terrible mistake.
Propaganda in Russia had never been shy, but by now I feel completely dumbfounded. A full swing war is called a “special operation”, an unprovoked attack is called “a rightful defense.” Propaganda states that black is white and feeds people’s minds with shit. After the first weeks of the atrocities in official news, I couldn’t keep it to myself. I insist on my right to speak out about it.
I speak about propaganda, freedom of speech and fear because I want to be heard that yes, I am Russian, but
Russian ≠ state
Russian ≠ Putin
I can’t speak on behalf of the majority but I can speak on my behalf.
So, on my behalf:
Stop the war.
Release all political prisoners.
Russia will be free.
Kadi Kübarsepp
Α & Ώ
I wanted to talk about the beginning, the unfolding of all things, and the path ahead, along with the reasons for my outset. The length and destination of our journey remain unknown. We move forward. – KADI KÜBARSEPP
Kadi Kübarsepp is an Estonian jewellery artist known for her powerful and at times brutalist way of handling materials. She obtained her master’s degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2011 and has been participating in exhibitions since 2003. Kübarsepp is particularly fascinated by the subjectivity of wearability questioned in contemporary jewellery art. Creating mainly sculptural performative pieces, she has been strongly influenced by the New Jewellery movement of the 80s, which, in a revolutionary spirit, liberated jewellery from the burdens of its historical materials, forms, and sizes. She is one of the 65 shareholders of A-Galerii, a member of the Estonian Association of Metal Artists, and of the Estonian Artists’ Association.
