Darja Popolitova at ESTONIAN MINING MUSEUM

My video installation ЭСТИМА КОДУМА at the LIFE IN DECLINE exhibition touches upon the topic of linguistic hybridity in Estonia, reflecting on the tensions that give form to the so-called ‘veneesti’ (RusEstonian). A series of objects such as oil-shale rocks, orchids and a dress, together with an in-situ graffiti, create the environment in which the witch Seraphita performs her cunning ritual to foresee how the Ida-Viru region will sound in the future. I invite visitors to reflect on the performativity of language and perceive the intermediate and fuzzy territory of Estonian idioms, here understood not as a form of polluting language but as a creative ability to respond to social and cultural changes.

Curators: Marika Agu and Francisco Martinez
Graphic Designer: Viktor Gurov
Technical Support: Johannes Säre
Photographer: Laura Kuusk

Watch ЭСТИМА КОДУМА video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ1rM-NAyLs&t=214s
VFX: Erik Merisalu
Sound Design: Andres Nõlvak
3D Support: Karmo Järv

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Anna Škodenko
Anne Rudanovski
Darja Popolitova
Edith Karlson
Eléonore de Montesquiou
Jevgeni Zolotko
John Grzinich
Laura Kuusk
Sandra Kosorotova
Varvara & Mar

Estonian Mining Museum, Kohtla-Nõmme
17.06.—03.10.2021

SUPPORTERS
Estonian Cultural Endowment, MOBERC30 Reparare research project.

PARTNERS
Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, Purtse Brewery.

RELATED TEXTS, INTERVIEWS & MEDIA COVERAGE
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