On Friday, January 30 at 6 p.m., Liisa-Chrislin Saleh and Ivor Mikker opened their exhibition UNVEILING/PUHASTUMINE* in the A-Gallery Vault.
*Puhastumine, meaning purification, describes a bodily and spiritual process of shedding
The joint exhibition by jewellery artist Liisa Chrislin Saleh and sculptor Ivor Mikker explores liminality, a state in which a form has not yet fully settled but remains in transformation. For both artists, process, repetition, and working with material are essential, understood as ways of opening the human relationship to the unknown and to the self.
Mikker’s sculptures investigate a being that exists on the threshold between the human and something other. The forms carry traces of human recognisability, yet remain fragmented, displaced, and in constant flux. The jewellery created by Saleh does not appear as separate objects, but becomes part of Ivor’s sculptural forms. One of the conceptual points of departure for Saleh is the Sufi idea of unveiling. She approaches it as a process through which a person, through sustained practice, repetition, and the clearing of inner layers, moves closer to their essential potential.
Within the exhibition as a whole, the sculptures embody inner transformation, while the jewellery functions as elements that emphasise or activate this process, acting as mediators that point to something already present within the human being but still in need of becoming visible. Together, the works form a transitional space: a moment in which perception shifts and something new may emerge whether in the outer world, within oneself, or in the space between the two.
Liisa Chrislin Saleh (1988) is an Estonian–Yemeni contemporary jewellery artist whose work weaves together folklore and futurism, engaging with themes of intersectional feminism, human rights, and spiritual belief systems. Her background as a makeup artist, stylist, and creative director, and her close connection to dance and nightlife culture, are reflected in a performative and visually charged practice that also includes photography, video, and installation. Saleh studies jewellery at the Estonian Academy of Arts and has further developed her practice in Lisbon and Florence. She also presents her work through Gohara, a project named after her Yemeni grandmother, which approaches jewellery as a carrier of cultural memory and politically charged narratives. In 2025 she had a duo exhibition Dance of Resistance with Hansel Tai at the EKA Gallery.
Ivor Mikker (2000) is a Tallinn-based sculptor whose practice operates at the intersections of the body, mythology, and identity. His work is grounded in sculptural thinking and in the exploration of materials and form, approaching the body as a mutable, liminal state.
Mikker studies installation and sculpture at the Estonian Academy of Arts, focusing on the spatial and material interpretation of inner worlds and embodied experience. Personal histories and mythological motifs intertwine in his work, while his sculptural beings and fragments reflect shifting identity and the poetic fragility of human existence.
Exhibition is supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Nudist