Body Space(d): Edith Karlson and Sigrid Savi
Between 27 and 30 November Tallinn Art Hall and Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava presented joint project “Body Space(d)”, which brought together three pairs of artists from the Estonian visual art and performance scenes. Each pair collaborated on a unique, one-night-only performance. Curator Evelyn Raudsepp invited three artist duos to create performative works: Edith Karlson and Sigrid Savi, Rene Köster and Mark Raidpere, and Flo Kasearu and Renate Keerd. On three consecutive nights the results of these collaborations were presented and then concluded on the fourth night with a diverse programme, featuring discussion, music, and the creation of shared space.
On 27th of Nov at 20 sculptor Edith Karlson and performing artist Sigrid Savi represented their collaboration. The pair found common ground in the galloping of the Wild West and the glide of pole dancing.
In their first ever creative collaboration, sculptor Edith Karlson and performance artist Sigrid Savi have found common ground between the galloping of the Wild West and the cling of pole dancing. Karlson and Savi look at the dangers of galloping in the Wild West and the similarities evident in society today. The mindset of the cowboy-entrepreneur is reminiscent of a steady relentless movement towards righteousness, but which is based purely on his own inner convictions, without any understanding of the new social structures. The wandering nomad inevitably reaches the point of a shootout, where their cowboy wisdom is put to the test… or sold off entirely or exchanged for skins.
Artists Edith Karlson and Sigrid Savi
Curator Evelyn Raudsepp
Sound artist Raul Saaremets
Technical team Villem Säre, Aleksander Meresaar, Hendrik Põlluste, Rommi Ruttas
Light design Rommi Ruttas
Exhibition team Siim Preiman, Sirli Oot, Kersti Sõõrumaa, Katrin Maimik, Kaisa Kattai
Graphic design Ott Kagovere, Indrek Sirkel
Photos (documentation) Kris Moor
Video (documentation): camera Piibe Kolka, Ruta Pakalne; sound recording: Saskia Lillepuu; editing Piibe Kolka; colour correction: Alis Mäesalu
Production Tallinn Art Hall and Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava (STL)
Supported by Estonian Cultural Endowment (Endowment of Dramatic Art, Endowment of Visual and Applied Arts), Estonian Ministry of Culture, Estonian Artists Association, AkzoNobel
Thanks to Katrin Kissa, Riinu Rahuoja, Helen Kalde
In Edith Karlson’s (1983) sculptural practice, animals and people are the main protagonists. Her often large-scale sculptural pieces produced by means of a combination of techniques show a variety of characters from colourful dogs to naked humans. However, these never stand alone as mere representations, but are composed into intricate installations. Karlson has shown extensively in Estonia, and been part of several exhibitions abroad.
Sigrid Savi (1992) has worked mainly as a freelance dancer and has recently started to explore choreography and performance art. Her work is characterized by a brutally naive sensibility in terms of structure and presentation. Her creative work emphasizes the audience’s experiential perspectives and stylistic coherence which unfold in either correlation with or opposition to pre-existing canons.
“Body Space(d)” is a collaboration between Tallinn Art Hall and Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava, where curator Evelyn Raudsepp, who is working at the intersection of performing and visual arts, continues the research into the symbolic spaces – the white cube and the black box. This time placing the body into the mix as well. With her performative curation she creates unique formats in which the audience is also welcomed to activate their perceptional horizon in order to meet unexpected artistic situations. In Tallinn Art Hall the combination of the invited artists’ practices and the thematic framing allows experimentation to take place within the clinical white cube with theatrical means. It also enables the artists to look into connections between embodied performance and the richness of artistic expression in visual art.
