Exhibition on science fiction "At the Edge of Time, Light Rings" opens at Tartu Art House

An exhibition titled "At the Edge of Time, Light Rings" (Russian: "На краю времени звенит свет") has opened at the Tartu Art House in the Estonian city of Tartu. The artists turn to science fiction and examine how it relates to reality. The show will be open until 8 November.

Seven artists, no curator

The exhibition brings together seven artists who are connected to the Estonian Academy of Arts and share an interest in science fiction. It has no separate curator; it grew out of joint discussions and collaborative creative work.

On display are drawings, paintings, sculpture, installations and sound art. The works share a similar view of the genre: the artists see it not only as an image of the future but also as a way of making sense of the present.

Invented societies and a sound installation

Artist Holger Loodus says he has read science fiction and watched sci-fi films all his life, so he had already thought about creating fictional worlds. For this show he made an imaginary society whose members worship entirely different gods. According to him, science fiction has long mirrored society and its ideas about the future, and today people look at fiction written a century ago sometimes with a smile, sometimes quite seriously.

In one room, artist Katrin Enni has built a micro-world exploring an encounter with the unknown. At the centre of the space stands an imaginary device for contacting aliens who exist only as sound. Enni describes it as an interactive sound installation that visitors can touch. The lighting is meant to create an unusual, fantastical atmosphere, and the very idea of such a space prompts reflection on what we really mean when we call something fantastic.