Fusing photography with installation in their work, Sigrid Viir, Kristiina Hansen and Johannes Säre are all relatively well-known artists, both individually and as members of groups. Absurd characters take centre stage in Sigrid Viir’s work. Focusing primarily on the perception of distorted space, Johannes Säre’s work has a more material presence. Compared to the others, Kristiina Hansen is somewhat more spontaneous.
The photograph shown here is from the artists’ exhibition at the Haapsalu City Gallery this summer, where, as part of the central installation of the exhibition, it poked fun at the romanticised self-image of the resort town as a Mecca for intellectuals. Although this is done in a way that does the artists themselves credit and uses a very aesthetically attractive format that lives up to their usual standards. Absurdism is an unfairly underrated genre in the Estonian art scene, and therefore, the individual, and in this case cooperative, contribution of this trio to the development of absurdism deserves attention.