Issue # 42 Kadri Liis Rääk

Longing For Possible Futures.

Interview by Curator Marika Agu

Amidst new endeavours, we take a look back at what actually happened in August 2022. Was

it a dream or reality? Artist Kadri Liis Rääk and myself were working on an exhibition

Xarcadia at the underground gallery Hoib, in Tallinn, and the next thing we knew, its second

chapter was to take place in Lima at Now Gallery. In this written interview, Kadri Liis reflects on

the experience.

Lima has gained a new space for exhibiting and making contemporary art. Now:

Gallery is a two story exhibition space and residency. You were invited as the first artist

to inaugurate both functions. How was the experience?

Firstly - I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have been invited, it was such a big honour

to be the first resident artist in a brand new gallery. During the residency I expressed to those

around me how it felt like some cosmic coincidence, being on the other side of Earth, doing

what I enjoy most. The trust and belief in my vision, and the help I had from everyone around

the gallery really made the experience something to cherish. The experience itself was such a

rollercoaster of emotions - of highs and lows - of joy and of more stressful work-filled times.

Like life itself in a very condensed time-space. It was a new challenge and life chapter for

everyone involved, and to have such a strong and dedicated group of young people, willing

to take risks and work hard for enriching the local art scene - it’s something to aspire to. It was

certainly one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life, but at the same time the most

stimulating, for sure.

Also – I find Peruvian people to be so extremely friendly, helpful and joyful, I got so used to

it that coming back to the rather distant and cold Estonians was a reverse culture shock.

How did your exhibition benefit from the preceding residency?

I really enjoyed and benefitted from the marvellous city visits with one of the gallerists,

Renzo Pittaluga, who was very insightful about the history and the hidden jewels of this

enormous place. Our visits to Gamarra textile market, various antique shops, the Barranco

district, and the downtown, gave some very necessary insights into Peruvian culture and

customs; also it showed the diversity of the people and their beliefs. I wouldn’t have seen

anything without the help of such a knowledgeable local guide.

What kind of themes and methods did you incorporate for your show Halcyon at Now:

Gallery?

The name of the exhibition – Halcyon – stands for a longing for possible futures, a mental

state of harmony and coexistence between different forms of life. The works propose a

rhizomatic symbiosis between micro-and macrocosms, between landscapes, microbes and

more-than-human worlds; talking about the entanglements we are amidst. The meticulously

hand-crafted sculptural works and drawings were part of a speculative utopia, a space without

time, where tactility is the basis of communication. In creating this world I played with

archetypal and symbolic narratives, working in the fields of installation, scenography and

speculative design. The use of textiles and textures is a way of weaving together old and new

narratives, imagining a softer world filled with care.

I believe that places open themselves up through their old objects – we scored many antique

objects from marvellous side alley thrift shops. The objects found their new life as the bases

for new sculptural works, which were directly inspired by Peru. For example, one of the

bigger hanging sculptures was called Kippu (Quipu) and was directly inspired by this ancient

Peruvian device for collecting data and keeping records. I saw such great potential in an old

antique object, combining an old way of seeing the world with contemporary textile

practices. This method of finding old objects through which to tell a story is a fascinating

way of getting to become part of a place, even just for a little while.

It was your first intercontinental trip and you stayed in Peru for 1.5 months. What kind

of mark did it leave on you as a person, and on your work?

Anything that can pull me out of my regular context and show me what shape life could also

be is a very enriching experience for an artist (or any human). I also went on a small trip after

the opening to visit Cusco, Machu Picchu, Ollaytantambo, Maras, Moray, Pisac, etc. This trip

provided me with a much needed awareness of the beauty and diversity of Peru, the breath-

taking abundance of colours, plants; of nature’s beauty. I will definitely use these impressions

in my future artworks.

You have studied and lived in Tallinn, Prague, and Ghent. Is it possible to identify how

these cities have affected you on your journey as an artist? If yes, how?

I guess I moved around a lot in search of that “thing that tickles”, a theme or a new way of

thinking that would further guide my artistic career. I believe that the work can become

stagnant, unless we move around, immersed in the constant flux of reinventing oneself,

finding new ways of looking at the world.

Movement, or flux, is a crucial part in my artworks- it’s about creating connections without

words, through touch and tactility; through symbolic means.