Breadcrumb
“Tactilite: Stone that Tickles the Gaze” by jewellery artist Darja Popolitova
30.07.2021
The exhibition “Tactilite: Stone that Tickles the Gaze” by jewellery artist Darja Popolitova will open in Hobusepea gallery at 6pm on August 5thHobusepea gallery. The solo show incorporates five video works, jewellery and installations that will create a fictional world where witch Seraphita helps to cope with the frustrations of everyday life.
“Seraphita is a fictional character who helps me to expand the usual functions of jewellery. For example, to shoot jewellery so that the viewer would be much more interested in watching a video clip rather than a stand-alone artifact attached to the stand,” says the author.
The video tutorials and jewellery tools in the exhibition are tailored to the specific needs of people – either for becoming more self-confident for some, bringing lost intimacy into life or coping with aggression for others.
The artist considers materiality not only as a physical component but also as a digital one. The action performed by witch Seraphita on the screen becomes a “ritual” involving corporeality. Without such powerful wearable symbols as jewellery, human life would not have sentimental values — gift-giving rituals, tactile moments, personal memories.
Darja's works have been published in local and international media. Kelly Riggs, a contemporary critic and curator, writes about Darja's work in the Dutch art magazine Current Obsession:
“Though the physical jewellery objects are the crux of what Popolitova creates, they are also just a part of the total picture, or the collective persona she presents when she shares that jewellery online.”
“Though the physical jewellery objects are the crux of what Popolitova creates, they are also just a part of the total picture, or the collective persona she presents when she shares that jewellery online.”
Darja Popolitova was born in 1989 in Sillamäe and lives and works in Tallinn. She is currently studying in the Doctoral School at Estonian Academy of Arts. Darja’s practice includes contemporary jewellery, digital craft and video art. Recently, Darja Popolitova has participated in exhibitions at the Museum Arnhem in Holland (2020), Art and Design Museum in New York (2019), the Kunstnerforbundet gallery in Oslo (2018). Darja Popolitova is represented by the following galleries: Marzee in Nijmegen, Beyond in Antwerp, and Door in Mariaheide. Her work is included in the collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Museum Arnhem, and private collections. The work of Darja Popolitova was awarded the Annual Awards of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in 2020, scholarships of the Ministry of Culture and Adamson-Eric in 2018. She also received the scholarship of Young Jewellery in 2015.
The exhibition can be visited from 4th to 30th of August 2021.
The exhibition has been completed in collaboration with Jakob Tulve (VFX) and Andres Nõlvak (sound).
Artists’s gratude goes to: Aleksandr Popolitov ja Nadežda Popolitova, Ando Naulainen, Anastasia Dratšova, Eesti Kunstiakadeemia doktorikool, Eesti Kunstiakadeemia ehte- ja sepakunstiosakond, Eesti Kunstnikeliit, Elnara Taidre, Karl Kivinurm, Norman Orro, Kadi Veesaar, Kadri Mälk, Karmo Järv, Keiu Krikmann, Kristo Pachel, Miikael Danieljants, Pire Sova, Raivo Kelomees.
Sponsors: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Moe OÜ, Õllenaut OÜ, Hobusepea gallery, Orbital Vox Studios.
Exhibitions in Hobusepea gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.
Additional information:
Hobusepea Gallery
Tel: +372 56 451 591
+372 52 85 324
+372 6 276 777
E-mail: galerii@eaa.ee
Hobusepea 2, Tallinn 10133
Tel: +372 56 451 591
+372 52 85 324
+372 6 276 777
E-mail: galerii@eaa.ee
Hobusepea 2, Tallinn 10133
Wed‒Mon 12.00‒18.00
