Estonian Open Air Museum offers an opportunity to experience a therapeutic tepee
Two architectural installations by artist Marianne Jõgi, the result of her two-year research, are open until the end of September under the common name “Elements of a Metafarm”.
According to the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center, these are very ambitious Estonian land art installations with therapeutic and stress-relieving effects on people.
“A Light Journey. Interaural Contour” is located in the museum’s old mill. Breathing into the microphone echoes back the visitor’s own breath together with different natural phenomena such as wind blasts, bird song and the sound of flowing water. Going to the mill has been a bright experience at all times and the purpose of this work is to perceive the immeasurable time through this space. Being in this environment can be compared to meditation, which brings forward alfa waves in the brain, a sense of peace and well-being.
“Interaural Contour I” is located near the pier. It can be accessed by boat or on foot, through the shallow water. It is a space for self-reflection. Throughout the exhibition, until September, the focus of the construction is on the apparent trajectory of Vega, the brightest star in the Lyra constellation. Even though we are accustomed to take the Polaris as an absolute in the stellar sky, there is a cyclical movement between Vega and Polaris, which is unfathomably long for the human senses, that alternates the role of the northern pole star between the two. The form of the work is based on the research on human perception preferences, it promotes experiencing the micro and macro level vibrations between our nervous system and the cosmos.
Marianne’s PhD thesis reflects on how to influence a person in terms of relaxation, well-being, creativity, and learning ability through various stress-reducing environments. This conscious method of acoustic design, which combines geometry with neuroscience, has been successfully and widely used in the design of large concert halls in Japan by scientist and practicing acoustician Yoichi Ando, who is also the supervisor of Marianne’s dissertation.
“Elements of a Metafarm” is part of the program devoted to the 60th anniversary of the Open Air Museum.
Marianne Jõgi was born in 1983 in Tallinn, Estonia. She received her MA degree in installation and sculpture from the Estonian Academy of Arts and is currently a PhD student at the Tallinn University of Technology, where she is researching architectural acoustics and novel environmental technologies. She has also an extensive background in music and a formal education in Music Theory. Her spatial works provide conditions for viewing the world through architectural form. She has taken part of exhibitions and creative projects since 2005. In 2013, Jõgi was awarded the Young Artist Award for her installation “Inaudibles”.
“Elements of a Metafarm” is on view from June to September, until the end of Estonian Open Air Museum’s 2017 exhibition season. Production of the installations was supported by Outset Estonia.
On Thursday, August 17th at 5pm, a meeting with Marianne Jõgi at the Open Air Museum will take place as part of the Studio Visits series organized by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center. The artist will talk about the background of her installations.
Marianne Jõgi “Interaural Contour I” . Photo: Kristina Õllek