Merike Estna and “Dear I’m a Painting”

The book I’m a Painting / Always Yours Blue Lagoon accompanied the exhibition project “Merike Estna and I’m a Painting” at the Kumu Art Museum (27.06.–02.11.2014, Contemporary Art Gallery). The project, which spatially combined two exhibitions – Merike Estna’s solo exhibition “Blue Lagoon” and the international painting exhibition “I’m a Painting” – continues the format experimentation as a book. This is not a traditional exhibition catalogue or collection of essays; the book can be treated as an independent work. A large part of the book is devoted to photo documentation (Anu Vahtra): the black-and-white section provides a survey of the exhibition’s installation, and the colour photos portray the works exhibited in the “Blue Lagoon” and “I’m a Painting” expositions, and provide views of the space. There is also a series of photos of the exhibition opening, Merike Estna’s wearable paintings and scans of Simon Daniel Tegnander’s works.

The texts for the book were written by Gavin Wade, a British gallerist and contemporary painting apologist, the artist Merike Estna and the curator Kati Ilves. Gavin Wade’s poetic essay establishes a relationship to the work of the “I’m a Painting” artists. Merike Estna analyses the connection between the exhibitions in a fictional context. Kati Ilves’s text is a curator’s text that clarifies the exhibition project by explaining its aspirations as they relate to content, as well as space and form.