EXHIBITION // "Songs of the sea"

On September 25th at 6pm, we are opening a new exhibition “Songs of the sea”, at Rõdugalerii, Tartu. Teresa Gruber’s paper sculptures are based on her research work, and focus on the topic of collective tradition, rhythm and ritual.

For her series “Reflections on home“ artist Teresa Gruber was exploring places from her past and the memories related to it. The works are a reflection on the immediacy of her perception and actions as a child. An attempt to translate the vague feeling of memories into a physical form, to make them tangible and preserve them. She examines the concept of home – not only as a physical location but even more as an internal state of safety and belonging.

During her research on Estonian culture and traditions, Regilaul especially caught her attention. She was drawn to the deeply rooted tradition of these songs, passed down from generation to generation – sometimes about cyclical transformational processes in nature, sometimes about mythological imagery, but also about daily life and the profane.

Structured in simple eight-syllable lines across four verses, it may seem simplistic, but it holds a quiet complexity. The monotonous singing, the repetition, the parallelism, and the centuries-old tradition of passing it down over many generations – within all of this seems to lie a distinctive power that is difficult to grasp.

From this exploration Gruber developed multilayered geometric objects during her KOOS art residency at Kakuke, to create an analogy to the repeating structure of Regilaul phrases and lines. By assembling shapes in rhythmic geometric formations, verses are translated into a visual metaphor.

For “Songs of the sea“, she followed this exploration of memory and internal experience, as a continuation to „Reflections on home“ – now with a focus on collective tradition, rhythm, and ritual. Both series investigate how intangible experiences – personal or cultural – can be embodied, preserved, and translated through material, pattern, and form.

Read more: https://typa.ee/.../exhibition-opening-songs-of-the-sea/
 
Exhibition is open from 25.09.2025-12.10.2025, so for just a bit more than 2 weeks!

Exhibition is free to visit for everyone!
Rõdugalerii is open Wed-Sun, 12:00-18:00.

Rõdugalerii is located in the Aparaaditehas courtyard, through door nr 7, on the second floor!