Sigrid Viir
Sigrid Viir
Sweet Smiles and Golf Clubs
The name of the photo series “Sweet Smiles and Golf Clubs” comes from the introduction of the Michael Haneke movie “Funny Games”. It is a movie where the meaning of “funny game” takes a totally unpredictable turn. Sweet smiles are there to betray our confidence and golf clubs turn out to be violent weapons. The purpose of the photo series is to ask about the thin line between fun and violence. Where exactly does one become the other? What kind of jokes are allowed in today's society? The images are neutral by intention. But this neutrality is deceptive like sweet smiles sometimes are. You as a viewer are the one to decide which road to take it.
Snapshot Photos on the Moon, Black holes Filled with Sugar Cube, Snowball as a Noble Gift, Polish Apple in a Lift
Sigrid Viir’s artistic practice often deals with photography and installation as a sculptural form. A three-part photo installation “Snapshot Photos on the Moon, Black Holes Filled with Sugar Cubes, Snowball as a Noble Gift, Polish Apple in a Lift" forms a visual narrative at the heart of which is a yearning for exoticism. The story, which carries a bit of absurdity, embodies relevant political issues, focusing on photography as a transformer of reality and on exoticism as a resource that is consistently reproduced and exploited.
Courtesy of the artist and Temnikova & Kasela Gallery
Sigrid Viir
Sigrid Viir graduated from the Department of Photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts (BA 2009) but she has also studied at the media art programme at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design in Germany (2007–2008). In 2009 she received the Young Artist Award from the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Eduard Wiiralt scholarship, in 2011 she was nominated for the Köler Prize, in 2012 she was awarded with a prize at the PULSE Art Fair and in 2012 and 2020 she received the Annual Art Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment. Viir is one of the founding members of Visible Solutions LLC. Viir’s works belong to the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and Carousel.
Exhibition Availability
The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Centre, 1 Odeska Street, exhibition open to the public until 18.10.21, Tue-Wed 8:30-16:00, Thu-Sun 11:30-17:00