Olematuse kummastav kutse
Author:
Laila Kaasik
Author:
Laila Kaasik
Exhibition "The Strange Call of Nonexistence" entices nonexistence to become existence
On December 17th at 17:12, the joint exhibition "The Strange Call of Nonexistence" by Navitrolla, Talis Taim, Kärt Summatavet, and Maret Einasto will open on two floors of the main building of the Tartu Observatory. This is the final exhibition of the "Chaos and Order" series of exhibitions and events initiated by the seven galleries of the University of Tartu in 2024.
The exhibition highlights the shine of darkness. The most important things are invisible to the eye - they remain hidden from us but still shapes the essence of the world. Dark matter does not emit or reflect light and is perceptible only through its gravitational influence, and dark energy, which drives the accelerating expansion of the universe, is even harder to grasp. Just as the deep essence of the universe, the most important things in our lives may be hidden, barely perceptible, yet still the most significant.
In visual and verbal arts, powerful creations reveal themselves only when the inexpressible can be expressed. The embodiment of nonexistence is realized naturally in the language of essences.
The exhibition will be opened by an artistic performance by Navitrolla and graphic designer Talis Taim.
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Navitrolla is a unique phenomenon in both Estonian and world art landscapes. He is simultaneously a realistic nature painter and a creator of surrealism with wild imagination. His strikingly distinctive work brings nonexistence to life by creating beings.
Talis Taim is an even more unique phenomenon. Or rather, an invisibility. As his name suggests (Taim is an Estonian word for "plant"), he is a plant, but what we see as foliage is only a trick to conceal a five-billion-year-old lens. He is a photo artist and graphic designer who can capture moments invisible to the everyday eye. Collaboration with Navitrolla bears fruit, as Navitrolla has a five-billion-year-old brush.
Kärt Summatavet is a metal artist and graphic designer, lecturer, and scientist whose work is inspired by mythology and symbols, the synergy of science and art. She defended her PhD in design at Aalto University in Helsinki in 2005. She was a professor of liberal arts at the University of Tartu in 2019/2020 and works now as a consultant at the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu. The exhibition features drawings "Dark Matter," "Snowmass," and several other themes of cosmic primordial essence. The initial impulse for the drawings was born from collaboration with Maret Einasto and colleagues at the Institute of Computer Science.
Maret Einasto is an associate professor of galaxy physics and cosmology at the University of Tartu, who captures the world not only in scientific language but also in the language of photography. Through her nature photos, it is possible to explain dark matter and other invisible connections of the universe through earthly and familiar images.
The exhibition will be open at the main building of Tartu Observatory in Tõravere until March 1, 2025.
The exhibition is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 programme.
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The series “Order and Chaos” intertwining science and arts offers dialogues between scientists and artists, conversations, and artworks exhibited in university gallery exhibitions. The objective of the series is to foster the synergy between science and arts. The themes for the “Order and Chaos” series in 2024 are Finno-Ugric, the universe, semiotics, and geometry.
An idea that emerged at the beginning of 2023 connects previously individually operating galleries in the Delta building, Oecologicum, Omicum, Physicum, Philosophicum, Tartu Observatory, and the University of Tartu Library.
The working group for the series includes Kärt Summatavet (Institute of Computer Science), Jaak Kikas (Institute of Physics), Sulev Kuuse (Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology), Krista Aru and Lilian Mengel (University Library), Maarja Nõmmik (Faculty of Humanities), Maret Einasto (Tartu Observatory) and Maarja Öpik (Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences).
