PRESS RELEASE

MAXIM MJÖDOV (1983) will open his personal exhibition Self Defence in Draakon gallery at 5pm on Monday, April 24, 2017.

“Often, the landscape of childhood - the omphalos (the Greek word for navel, symbolises the centre of the world), the “first place” - is associated strongly with identity.”

My connection with the “first place” is still persistent. In 1989 I was one of the first kids to run between the newly finished panel houses of the 7th microrayon of Lasnamäe. Ninestorey buildings grew before my eyes, idols among endless wastelands and burnt grass - it fascinated my 6-year-old consciousness. Reflecting from the gravel-covered walls, the sun filled this vast space with a warm, yellow light. This is my first vivid memory of the place I grew up with and together with whom I began to grow old. The amount of historical materials from different periods of Lasnamäe (archival documents, photographs, memories) is contrastingly small compared to other areas, although its history appears to be one of the most complex and controversial in Tallinn. It stands out with its unusually high number of population, large area, and also for the fact that its environment was changed beyond recognition during the Soviet government.
In 1991, after Estonia gained independence, this district became a national ghetto for over 100,000 Russian-speaking residents. A town within a town where the rhythm was substantially different from the “outside”, in some aspects more tribal. The borders of Lasnamäe became division lines in our society, they also became the limits of my homeland.
In the first part of this project, I decided to focus on landscape and the particular fragments that still connect me to my youth. Upon entering these landscapes I am instantly able to go beyond the reach of time. Hiding behind the new facades, clean streets, shopping centers - this space - as if in an everlasting pause, it gives me a sense of safe and calm, evokes a piercing nostalgia and simultaneously pulls me into despair. Self Defence is the first part of Mäe project, a selection from over 1000 negatives taken between 2007-2017. The photos are hand-printed and toned by author.

Maxim Mjödov is a fine art photographer, born in Tallinn, Estonia in 1983. Fascinated with emulsion based photography, he entirely dedicated himself to studying it starting from 2003 and began to experiment in search of expressive forms and photographic possibilities as a tool for acquiring knowledge about and analysing his own and surrounding life. The main themes of his work: relationships in modern society, transformation and influence of landscape, perception of time, narrative and poetry in photography.
www.kvanta.org

Exhibition will be open until May 13, 2017.

Supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Estonian Ministry of Culture.