1. Exhibition “The Vernacular”

Exhibition “The Vernacular”

18.01.2022

On 19 January, at 17:00, “The Vernacular” art exhibition will open at the Tallinn Russian Museum (Pikk Street 29a).
 
“THE VERNACULAR”, Muravskaja's personal exhibition, is an atlas of Russian words of the Russian-speaking people of Estonia, and it reflects many processes that have taken place in the past and are ongoing in Estonian society. It is a unique imprint of time and culture that is inscribed in the native language of the ethnic Russian community in Estonia. The exhibition shows language and vocabulary as the most iconic expression of the identity of Estonia’s ethnic Russians. The collection of words has been assembled in close collaboration with the local community and the Tallinn Russian Museum.
 
Curator and artist Tanja Muravskaja says about the exhibition: “During the last year of collaborative work with the museum and its circle of friends, over 150 of the ‘most common’ words had been collected. Many general words were repeated as evidence and facts of universal human values. There were also many discoveries: such as new, unusual words from the cultural, national and linguistic diversity of Estonia.
 
Frequently repeated words: мама (mum), доченька (daughter), батя (dad); about personal relationships: нежность (tenderness), красотуля (beauty), уют (comfort), маша-растеряша (woolgatherer); the discoveries also included interferences and borrowings from the Estonian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Tatar and other vocabulary cultures: шухляда (drawer), тремпель (coat hanger), кохвик (café), пясточка (handful). There were also examples that people mentioned of valuable and meaningful words associated with the past of the family and moving or studying outside of today's Estonia: поребрик (kerbstone), хутор (hamlet), парусинка (sailcloth), рубль (ruble), etc.
 
The first part of the exhibition is the author's installation by Muravskaja, based on her collection of words and personal stories associated with them. Her curatorial exhibition with works by artists associated with Estonia is presented in the small hall. Paintings and graphic sheets with texts reveal the cultural and historical context of the use of the Russian language in Estonia. This manifests itself both in the conceptual works of Raul Meel and Ilya Kabakov, and in the satirical works of Alexei Gordin.
 
“The Vernacular” at Tallinn Russian Museum is part of the large-scale project titled “Museum Laboratory”, which expands the role of the museum to a social one and involves visitors in the formation of the museum.
The exhibition and the programme of events are held within the framework of the international project “Agents of Change: Connecting Communities” with the support of Creative Europe.
 
On 26 January, at 17:30, a curatorial tour around the exhibition and a conversation with the author of the exhibition, Tanja Muravskaja, will take place. A further programme of events will be published in early February.
 
The exhibition features art works by following artists: Alexey Gordin, Kuzja Zverev, Ilya Kabakov, Sandra Kosorotova, Raul Meel, Boriss Uvarov and Evi Pärn.
 
The exhibition will be open until September 2022.
 
Exhibition design: Raul Kalvo
Graphic design: Vladimir Loginov
Technical performance: Johannes Säre & Co
 
Thanks to:
The artists whose works are presented at the exhibition: Alexey Gordin, Kuzja Zverev, Sandra Kosorotova, Raul Meel, Evi Pärn, Neeme Külm, Liidia Meel, Kadri Mägi, Karin Taidre, Elnara Taidre, Olga Tjurina and Oleg Uvarov.
Tartu Art Museum, Capital Culture Foundation
Mediators of the ‘Agents of Change: Connecting Communities’ and friends of the Tallinn Russian Museum.
 
Additioionnal informat:
Tanja Muravskaja
Tel: +372 527 1277
 
Julia Kornejeva
Tel: +372 5305 2151
linnamuuseum.ee/vemu
Exhibition “The Vernacular”
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