PRESS RELEASE

Exhibition of fine art photography „PUNCTUM“will be opened in Draakon gallery at 5pm on Monday, August 12, 2013.

Sirgid Viir

Roland Barthes, a French literary theorist, philosopher and semiotician, published „La Chambre Claire“ („Camera Lucida“) in 1980 – a well-known book on the theory of photography where Barthes reflects on mortality, the essence of photography and the interrelation between the two abovementioned. While being largely based on emotions and personal experience, the author introduces two terms that have become considerably popular in interpreting photography – studium and punctum. These terms represent the elements that attracted Barthes in photography. Since the studium is culturally encoded and hence easy to understand by the audience, Barthes used the term to characterize photos that don't draw much attention. Punctum, on the contrary, is an element that „pricks“ the audience while attracting attention and initiating critical reading and analysis; it is often the detail interfering with the uniformity and stability of a photograph. At the same time, punctum can broaden out throughout an entire photograph. Whereas studium is conventional, punctum is subjective and fully dependent on the audience.
At the current exhibition, young fine art photographers from Tallinn and Tartu exhibit their personal punctum and the visual interpretation of Barthes' concept. Participating artists are: Triin Rebane, Katrin Sarapuu, Sirla, Liisa Täherand and Sigrid Viir.
„PUNCTUM“is curated by Kadri Laas and Annika Toots, being the first public curatorial art project for the young art historians.

Exhibition will be open until August 24, 2013.

Exhibition is supported by: the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Artists' Association, OOT-OOT Enjoy Vintage, Art Print.

Triin Rebane
Born in Tallinn. The artist has freshly graduated from the department of photography at Tartu Art College. She has also studied in Porto, Portugal and participated in several group exhibitions in Estonia. http://rebanetriin.tumblr.com/

Katrin Sarapuu
Katrin Sarapuu has obtained a BA degree in photography at Tartu Art College and a MA degree in photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts. She is living and working in Tallinn, Estonia.

Sirla
Sirla has freshly graduated from the department of photography at Tartu Art College. In photography, she is most attracted by randomness and disturbed by excessive technological aspects.

Liisa Täherand
Liisa Täherand has previously studied art history and currently obtaining a MA degree in photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts. She is a newcomer in Estonian art scene, having published a few photo series in the cultural newspaper „Müürileht“ and the urban newsletter „U“.

Sigrid Viir
Living and working in Tallinn, Estonia. Besides being involved with her solo art projects, Sigrid Viir is an active member of artistic group Visible Solutions LLC. Recently, she participated in Manifesta 9 in Genk, Belgium. She was nominated for the „Köler Art Prize 2011“ and received the Annual Artist's Award by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in 2012.

Kadri Laas
Kadri Laas has graduated from the department of art history at the Estonian Academy of Arts and obtained a MA in law at the University of Tartu. She is currently working as a project manager at the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (www.ecadc.ee) where among other tasks she consults Estonian galleries, schools gallerists and organizes art events.

Annika Toots
Annika Toots has obtained a MA degree in art history at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her field of study consists of photography, contemporary arts and their interconnections with memory. She has written art criticism in various publications of art.