Evelyn Müürsepp | Estonia

Evelyn Müürsepp, is an Estonian visual artist. She holds a B.A in Fine Arts by the University of Tartu and is one of the coordinators of MoKS, an art residency center in Mooste. Evelyn collaborates with the sound artist John Grzinich in several projects combining sound and visual arts, and she has presented her solo works (mainly graphic art, painting, photography, site-specific installations) in galleries and festivals in several Baltic and northern Europe countries.

http://maaheli.ee/eku

Project: Kudum
Category: Visual Arts, Installation
Period: April 2008
Event: Art Residency

Patterns come up occasionally at my creation from time to time. These have been paintings of wallpapers or close-up paintings of objects (like foam, leaf, bread, soil, field) I find.

Recently a visit to Obinitsa (Setu village in Estonia by Russian border) twisted my mind. A local craftswoman showed me traditional patterns that ladies have done for hundreds of years and what they still keep creating on their clothes (embroidering, crocheting, knitting etc). There is one rule they have followed - one is never allowed to copy given pattern, but one always has to alter it somehow and must be able to show where the alteration was made. The same approach came up later when Setu artist and former “king” Evar Riitsaar told me about their songs. They usually all start the same way, but somewhere around the 10th line things start to change. Their songs are usually sung by fore singer while others repeat. It’s known that folk culture has no author and its practice is based on slight alterations. Others can always pick its creation up and develop it further. The Idea of Open Source carries the same mood - users can alter the code; adjust it to ones needs or creative purposes.

By coming to Nodar- I keep my eyes, senses and ears open. What can I find there?

Phase I - To research and collect patterns in and around Nodar. Drawing, painting, photographing, and recording them. These can be either patterns from nature or patterns from people’s activities (eg wallpaper patterns, stichings on fabrics).

Phase II - Work produced based on research: either animation, video, drawings, paintings or installation. It depends on the material I gather and in what I find.

An excerpt of the video conceived and presented during the residency ("Kudum"):