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Sven Parker “Walls, panels, fragments”

02.08.2021

Sven Parker will open his personal exhibition “Walls, panels, fragments” in Draakon gallery at 6pm on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021. Exhibition will be open until August 28th, 2021.
 
This exhibition is inspired by one of the first “westernized” comic book series published in Estonia in the 1990s. Western narratives and characters entered Estonian storytelling soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the beginning of a paradigmatic shift. As the cold war ended, the capitalist ideology reached Eastern Europe and brought about expansive commodification and transition to a new liberal-democratic mode of governance.
 
American political scientist Francis Fukuyama has described this time period as “the end of history”, the disappearance of great historical narratives based on the tension and ideological opposition between East and West. Yet recent events have created new grand narratives, such as the fight against terrorism, the climate crisis and most recently, the sometimes long bouts of social isolation, to name a few.
 
Indeed, one can argue that history has not ended, instead becoming fragmented and a commodity on itself, as suggested by the cultural theorist Fredric Jameson. The desire for capitalism has been given a physicality, which addresses its own temporality and the space surrounding it. Following this framework, the works on display are mapping out past collective experiences, with fragments as starting points for historical narratives to emerge.
 
The panels on display are intended as markers of the period when western and eastern narratives and imagery meet. They draw a parallel between fictional stories and historical events from the past, presenting these realities as still frames in the midst of a transformative change. The comic strips are applied onto the panels as a collage, mimicking layers of wallpaper added and removed, portraying ideological fragments to be built or demolished.
 
The art practice of Sven Parker can be described through installation, staging and the use of different collage techniques. His current topics of interest include the relations between butaphory and its surroundings as they appear through relational aesthetics. In 2011 he received his bachelor’s degree in painting from the Estonian Academy of Arts and has pursued further studies in the department of sculpture and installation.
 
The artist’s gratitude goes to: Merilin Paart, Mait Luhasoo, Aivar Paart, Roman-Sten Tõnissoo, Mihai Nica
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.The exhibitions in Draakon Gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.
 
Additional information:
Draakon Gallery
Tel:  +372 56 451 591
       +372 52 85 324
       +372 6 276 777
E-mail: galerii@eaa.ee
Pikk 18, 10133 Tallinn
Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00
Sat 11.00–17.00
 
Sven Parker “Walls, panels, fragments”
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