When the dream of flying is better than flying
Krista Mölder’s work so far has been marked by an attempt to depict potential, and to depict it exactly as po- tential, by using various approaches to avoid showing clearly defined objects and meanings, that is, things on the foreground, things that the photographs are about (or even what they talk about). Art Allmägi has de- scribed this as follows: “She often stages her photographs in a way that does not present much information, yet compels the viewer to imagine the parts that are left out.” Thus, the backgrounds of Mölder’s photos con- spire with what is out of frame, triggering the viewers’ imagination. The viewers feel the presence of out-of- frame, yet do not see it. To resolve the tension, they begin filling this blank in the surround with their own feeling-matter. Mölder’s photographs are composed in a way that keeps the feeling-matter from getting dark. She lures out bright matter, without it becoming noisy or naive.
In the current show, Mölder has supplemented her previous approach with flirt with clearly defined objects: besides backgrounds we also see gliders. Gliding presents us with a tension-laden encounter of extreme vulnerability and control. Of vulnerability, as one is inevitably forced to surrender to the currents of air while hanging above the landscape. Of control, when one nevertheless masters it and surveys the landscape from above. Such a high tension, however, is barely present in the show. It has been softened into a low-ten- sioned wait, of a nurturing pause under covers, of a calm readiness of slumbering gliders. This state is per- haps not unfamiliar to the viewer and they, too, are overcome by a longing for a nurturing pause and calm readiness. With her exhibition, Mölder thus presents us with another layer in her ongoing project of luring out nurturing bright matter.
Text by Eik Hermann
Krista Mölder
You were a bird
28 November 2020 – 7 February 2021
Temnikova & Kasela
Noblessner, Kai Art Center building – Peetri 12, 10415, Tallinn
The exhibition is supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Punch Drinks
Thank you: Alis Mäesalu, Dénes Farkas, Eik Hermann, Kadri Toom, Maria Erikson, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Siim Vahur, Teet and Triin Jagomägi, ArtProof, EAA Department of Graphic Art
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment print, archival paper, framed, 40x50cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment print, archival paper, framed, 40x50cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment prints, archival paper, framed, 65x80cm and 46x75cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment prints, archival paper, framed, 65x80cm and 46x75cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment prints, archival paper, framed, 65x80cm and 46x75cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment prints, archival paper, framed, 110x136cm and 110x127cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment prints, archival paper, framed, 110x136cm and 110x127cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, pigment prints, archival paper, framed, both 30x38cm. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
Krista Mölder, You were a bird, 2020, installation view. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo
