Exhibition Losing Precision

People strive for perfection, but what do we gain by losing precision? This exhibition features the works of five jewellery artists who graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts, exploring the boundaries of jewellery as a medium and discovering new paths. What new possibilities open up when something clear becomes fuzzy, even vague? Yufang Hu and Ulrika Paemurru are perhaps the closest to classical thinking about jewellery, i.e., items that are wearable, but they play with these conventions. Hu embraces filigree as a technique but renders it imperfect, challenging expectations of precision. Looking at Hu’s filigree series, I’m drawn to them because they lack the sheen of perfection. There is an allure in something appearing a bit broken and loose at the seams. Paemurru’s biographical piece—its face molded from the artist herself—also carries a sense of melancholy. The face, made from simple, humble materials, rests within a shiny, golden, cage-like structure. Minimal in its details, anyone can project themselves onto the slightly macabre face. Sille Luiga’s works can be seen through the lens of play with the past. Balloons, now empty and shell-like, hark back to times of celebration, while ribbon brooches evoke the memory of gifts adorned with extravagant ribbons. The deflated balloons and discarded ribbons can be found on the floor after an exciting party. Then they are usually just trash that needs to be cleaned up, nothing worthy to keep around. But could a wrinkly balloon preserve the memory of a party so wonderful you never wanted it to end? Indrek Mesi and Federica Cogliandro work in different ways with patterns and ornamentation. Mesi uses contemporary AI tools to create prints that are incredibly ambiguous, like artistic Rorschach tests. Do you see brain x-ray scans or an intense mix of baroque and rococo ornaments from palaces and churches? While Mesi’s compositions are precise and measured, Cogliandro’s approach is more uncontrolled and physical. She employs the technique of blind embossing—a printmaking method that does not use ink—embracing the raw and tactile. The result is minimalist and clear—everything is exact, yet behind this precision lies a touch of luck.

The exhibition is part of the 9th Tallinn Applied Arts Triennial’s satellite program.

Participating artists: Federica Cogliandro, Yufang Hu, Sille Luiga, Indrek Mesi, Ulrika Paemurru
Text: Johanna Jolen Kuzmenko
Graphic design: Aimur Takk
Sponsors: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, National Arts and Culture Foundation (Taiwan)
Thanks: Valge Kuup