Laivi whose creative work is positioned on the questionable common grounds of contemporary art and fashion design, is a post-graduate student of fashion at Aalto University in Helsinki. Since 2010 she has been an active participant of the Estonian and Finnish art and fashion scene: she has taken part in fashion shows in Estonia, Russia, Finland and Italy and also in several substantial exhibitions of contemporary art in Estonia.
The essence of the Laivi’s work has been projecting her ideal mental imagery onto clothing. More than ever before, her experiments with textiles have formed into ready-to-wear garments. Clothes that have been made as objects detached from the body carry a much higher value than products made for short-term satisfaction. The artist writes: “It seems that to be satisfied with ourselves and our looks we always need something new. Enterprise that is focused on endless production, consumption and revenue values the number of sales over quality. The exhibition guides the audience to ask themselves, on the behalf of self-love, about the duration of the state of satisfaction and the level of quality enabled.”
In her solo exhibition Laivi dissects the different sides of her creative activities and develops a dialogue about the power that institutional systems possess to change the value and meaning of the exhibited objects. Likewise fast fashion cultivates consumerism, the functional commodities in museums are exposed as objects of desire. Could it be that in the future museums share their space with boutiques to withstand market competition? What is the relation between museums and museum shops and what could a museum located in a small town do next to keep up with modern trends? These are some of the questions that the exhibition in Tartmus’ project room invites you to ponder on.
Curator: Sten Ojavee
Sound design: Mihkel Maripuu
Poster design: Lauri Suurväli
Photography: Alan Proosa ja Laivi
Board of commissioners: Karl Feigenbaum, Joanna Hoffmann, Margus Joonsalu, Kristel Sibul
Contributor: Cultural Endowment of Estonia
We also thank E.M.A. Model Management and MJ Model Management
