Saara Ekström’s Domestic Nature Morte (2004) is installed in the exhibition “Abundance and Ephemerality. Still Lifes from Finnish and Baltic Collections” in Kadriorg Art Museum, Tallinn, from January 21 to May 14. Saara Ekström gives an artist talk about her video in Kadriorg Art Museum on Wednesday, February 1 at 18:00.
By juxtaposing still lifes from 17th and 18th century Europe with contemporary art, the exhibition expands the reception of still lifes and creates an opportunity to contrast and compare the development of the themes and keywords (abundance, ephemerality and consumption) in European art culture and mentality through five centuries.
In Domestic Nature Morte, an arrangement of ripe tomatoes – Stilleben – turns into a living painting in this time-lapse video. A month-long filming period is compressed into minutes during which the tomatoes undergo a true metamorphosis. First, the fruits turn into a dishful of rotting juice, then they turn back into being as perfect as they were at the beginning of the video. A linear concept of time turns out to be a construction when the same event is run backwards and forwards over and over again.
Saara Ekström lives and works in Turku, Finland. In her video, photography and installation works, Ekström is interested in natural and artificial materials that embody strong symbolic values. She has participated in several national and international exhibitions since 1986. She was a candidate for the Ars Fennica Award in 2002 and the artist of the year of Helsinki Festival in 2005. Ekström’s extensive solo exhibitions have been seen at Amos Anderson Art Museum in 2005 and at Contemporary Art Museum Kiasma in 2011. Her works are represented in many collections in Finland and internationally.
“Abundance and Ephemerality. Still Lifes from Finnish and Baltic Collections” Kadriorg Art Museun, Tallinn, January 21 – May 14
More information: Kadriorg Art Museum