Biomass – Ghost in the Corner

Kogo Gallery is glad to present the personal exhibition of sculptor and installation artist Eike Eplik, accompanied by Mehis Heinsaar‘s text “Aesthistence” (2020).

Eike Eplik uses improvisation and experiments with various materials to find new and exciting forms, variations and associations. This time, she creates a gallery-wide installation of objects made of different materials (clay, porcelain, metal, foundry, wood). As art and literature have been closely intertwined in the Tartu cultural field for many years, thus creating both original creators and fascinating collaborations, Kogo gallery proposed to invite one Estonian writer or poet to take part in the exhibition. So Eike Eplik selected Mehis Heinsaare as the partner of the show. The choice is fully justified – both creators are courageous and independent escapists whose oeuvre is based on a deep connection with the environment (nature) and the individualism of the author. Their works are elaborate, imaginative and closely connected to the subconsciousness. Neither creator is directly social or political, but in the undercurrents, these themes are inevitable. Using nature’s motifs, they both create stories that are the worship of pluralism and biodiversity.

Eike Eplik (1982) has a master’s degree from the Department of Sculpture of the Estonian Academy of Arts (2010). She has also studied in the Pallas University of Applied Sciences and the Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland. She worked as an assistant to artists in Finland and in Germany and is currently teaching in the Tartu Children’s Art School and the Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Tartu. In 2006, Eplik received the Eduar Wiiralt grant for young artists; in 2012, the production grant of the contemporary art festival ART IST KUKU NU UT; in 2015, she was nominated for the Sadolin Art Award; and in 2018, she was recognised with the Ado Vabbe Art Award. Her latest personal exhibitions were “Beauty Salon” in the monumental gallery of the Tartu Art House (2017) and “Natural” in the Hobusepea Gallery in Tallinn (2018). In 2021, Eike Eplik will hold a personal exhibition in the Tartu Art Museum that also has her works in their collections. More info https://eikeeplik.ee.

Mehis Heinsaar (1973) is one of the most highly esteemed contemporary Estonian writers. He made his debut as a poet belonging to the literary group Erakkond (The Group of Hermits) in 1997. In 2001, when his first collections of short stories, “Vanameeste näppaja” (Snatcher of Old Men, 2001) and “Härra Pauli kroonikad” (The Chronicles of Mr Paul) appeared, he enjoyed unprecedented success amongst critics and was awarded several prestigious prizes. Since then, he has published numerous impressive short stories and collections. But Heinsaar is still a bewitching poet, too. His second poetry collection, “Pingeväljade aednik” (The Gardener of Tension Fields), appeared in 2018. He also has published one novel and is currently writing the second one. Mehis Heinsaar’s works have been translated to Finnish, Hungarian, Russian, French and English. See more info and list of translations on the website of Estonian Literature Center.

* The interdisciplinary cooperation of the creative people in Tartu was especially visible during 2004–2014 when the Y-Gallery was active. For example creators like Kiwa, chaneldior (Tanel Rander), Martiini, Juka Käärmann, Erkki Luuk, Marko Kompus, Lauri Sommer (Kago), Kaspar Jassa, Kristiina Viin, et al. has made exiting multidisciplinary collaborations. In later years, the cooperation between the sculptor and installation artist Jevgeni Zolotko (from the same generation as Eplik) and the writer, translator and gamer designer Anti Saar is a significant example.

Thanks to Sculpture department of Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Tartu Children’s Art School, Kertu Tuberg, Mehis Heinsaar, Silver Sikk, Bruno Kadaku, Mary-Ann Talvistu, Peeter Talvistu, Šelda Pukite, Margit Lõhmus, Urmo Teekivi, University of Tartu project practice students, group leader Mari-Liis Koemets and supervisors Anneli Lorenz and Merily Heinalo; the supporters Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Tartu – City of Good Thoughts.