Opening: Performance The Daughter The Mother The Grandmother – Kris Lemsalu

Venue: Exhibition space, ground floor

During the opening, Kris Lemsalu will activate her sculpture Mama is in your bed (2022) with a durational performance in memory of her female ancestors. In this artwork, various ceramic objects share a bed: two vulvas, a rabbit and an owl. The vulva-shaped spheres wear the fur coats of Lemsalu's mother and grandmother. They are therefore charged with the memory of the two women.
With her own physical presence, the artist complements the work to create a «female trinity»: she addresses how we inherit the characteristics of our mothers and grandmothers – how we are shaped by their experiences and traumas. During the performance, the artist carries her spirit animal, a ceramic snail, on her back, because: change happens slowly.

Kris Lemsalu (*Tallinn, 1985) lives and works between New York and Tallinn (Estonia). She creates objects and installations that often serve as a starting point or stage for performances. Among others, her works and projects have been shown at: High Line Art, New York (2021); KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2020); Secession, Vienna (2018); Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, London (2018). In 2019, Lemsalu represented Estonia at the 58th Venice Biennale.