Temnikova & Kasela is pleased to invite you to the opening of Kärt Ojavee’s and Johanna Ulfsak’s exhibition “Save As“ on the 30th of August, 7pm

Temnikova & Kasela is pleased to invite you to the opening of Kärt Ojavee’s and Johanna Ulfsak’s exhibition “Save As“ on the 30th of August, 7pm, Lastekodu 1.
Kärt Ojavee’s and Johanna Ulfsak’s second collaborative exhibition “Save As” is an installation centred around a hand-woven textile. Similarly to their 2016 project “Live Streams” (Hop gallery, Tallinn), the work is a result of various experiments with unusual combinations of materials. It is large scale, its texture is amplified by light, and its visual qualities change depending on the viewer’s location in the space. But there are significant differences, too. With “Live Streams”, Ojavee and Ulfsak were trying to look beyond the object itself, to connect the aesthetics and the function of the fabric with the world outside of the gallery. Receiving real-time information from the web, the textile at Hop gallery moved according to the changes in the weather many miles away. “Save As” has the reverse intention — the focus is on the material and form detached from apparent function. Robust industrial materials like PVC, glass fibre, optical fibre and carbon fibre that are commonly employed in mass production were used here to create by hand. The resulting textile comprises an impressive 10200 lines which took 150 hours to weave. The sense of perfection easily achieved by machines and potential functionality promised by strong materials are given up in favour of the idiosyncrasies and human errors that make up the handmade product. What is achieved with the reversed tactic in “Save As”? What can a hi-tech handmade textile reveal about the process of machine mass production? What can the viewer learn by examining the results of human work?
Ojavee and Ulfsak have presented their collaborative project “Live Streams” at HOP Gallery, Tallinn (2016); Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Tallinn Creative Hub (2017); and European Parliament, Brussels (2017). Together they are the co-founders of KO/JU Creative Textile Studio. 
Kärt Ojavee (Ph.D.) is a designer, artist, and lecturer. Her work is focused on future concepts of textiles and (inter)active interior fabrics where technology and soft materials are combined. Her installations have been exhibited at various exhibitions around the globe. Ojavee’s brand KO! is focused on experimental textile-based products and unique objects. In 2012 she received a young designer award Säsi. The same year, Ojavee’s and Eszter Ozsvald’s installation “SymbiosisW” won II prize at Be Open awards and was a runner-up at the Core77 design awards. Currently, Ojavee is a research fellow at the Estonian Academy of Arts’ Interior Design Department. Ojavee’s recent projects and exhibitions include costumes and set design, in collaboration with Edith Karlson, for “Estonian Games: TÖNK”, a musical performance directed by Peeter Jalakas (2018); group show “Building With Textiles”, Tilburg Textile Museum, Tilburg (2014); group show “Human Play”, Scin Gallery, London (2014); Köler Prize nominees exhibition, where Ojavee was one of the nominees, EKKM, Tallinn (2014); “UUO: undefined useful objects” solo exhibition, Estonian Design and Applied Art Museum, Tallinn (2012); "SymbiosisO: Voxel” in collaboration with Ester Ozsvald and Alex Dodge, Issey Miyake Tribeca, New York (2012). 
Johanna Ulfsak received her postgraduate degree from Designskolen Kolding, Denmark. She participated in a residency programme focused on traditional Japanese weaving and textile design at the Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto, Japan. Ulfsak gained textile design and fashion related work experience in Switzerland, Germany and Estonia. Her conceptual design brand NO FUN is focused on developing limited collections of design objects such as carpets, handmade scarves, couture fabrics, and fashion pieces. Ulfsak enjoys creating fun visual illusions, highlighting unpredictable results, and prompting the viewer to analyse what they are seeing and think about how it was made. Inspired and influenced by outside-of-the-system thinkers such as hobbyists, deaf weavers, elderly club members and Sunday craftsmen, her work aims to bring together poetic, humorous and fragile aspects of life. Ulfsak’s recent exhibitions and projects include “Inquiry & Investigation”, a collaboration with Lolina, Artists Space, New York, and Cafe Oto, London (2018); NO FUN RUGS collection launch, Julice Laverie, Paris (2018); “The Next Great Fashion Designer LA”, a collaboration with Alina Astrova, Overduin & Co., Los Angeles (2016).
Thanks: Neeme Külm and Valge Kuup, Jan Tomson, Estonian Academy of Arts' Textile Design Department, Endel Laurimaa, Ingrid Helena Pajo, Ingel Kutsar, Vivika Sopp, Merilin Kruusel, Jennifer Laan, Tiina Puhkan, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Põhjala beer, Rein Kasela Wine Room.

Wen–Sat 3pm–7pm, or by appointment +372 640 5770 Temnikova & Kasela Lastekodu 1, Tallinn 10115 www.temnikova.ee #fineartmagazine