Eha Komissarov
Painting in Process (14.V – 10. X 2010), Kumu Art Museum, curatorial statement

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In recent years, the boundaries between interiors, design and painting have blurred. The extensive space installation of Merike Estna, who lives in Brussels, is based on the wallpaper-theme that is currently topical in international exhibitions and provides a dialogue between background, design and painting. Estna’s installation juxtaposes two opposing approaches to painting as a representation in space. In the first, the wallpaper encompasses the entire space, and overshadows the painting. And, as a contrast, in the second, large-format oil paintings are displayed, with depictions that reveal themselves at first glance, and which can be approached in the usual way. Estna’s choice of images connects nudes and landscapes as popular themes in painting through the ages. The nudes are based on documentary material that was photographed by the girls who were the models or their friends.  Through the documentary source material, Estna searched for the answer to the question: what is the role of nude paintings in today's media- and information-filled world? The landscape and seascape in Estna's project originate from Plato, who laid the foundation for the idealistic world-view which holds that objects are not genuine; the thoughts and ideas that introduce these objects are more genuine and enduring.
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