Blog — high and low culture

The subject of my art is the human being – that hairy, chaotic creature who believes they are special, yet simply thrashes about in a cage of instincts and complexes. Human nature is an infinite source of material: absurd and genius at the same time. I engage with it consciously – analyzing myself and observing others like a scientist watching a microbe dance under a microscope. Thoughts emerge, morph into feelings, and BAM – suddenly, everyone is making utterly ridiculous decisions. The question is: do we even realize that this is all one big, bizarre game? At what point do...

In the exhibition “Contemporary Capitalist,” Katrin Valgemäe revisits her childhood in the USSR and the early 1990s in newly independent Estonia. Drawing from her memories of Finnish TV, advertisements, and foreign goods, she explores the paradox of being an outsider to the capitalist “paradise.” Through personal, nostalgic recollections and distorted memories, Valgemäe builds a playful reality that merges socialist influences with modern life, creating a symbiosis that evokes recognition yet feels uniquely new.