„Idols III“

Gallery of Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia

Idols, idols, dear brothers…

Mall Nukke’s work refers to the fact that etymology is not merely a construct from ancient times nor is it a series of unexplainable events that took place at some time, but rather man’s tendency to see in texts specific, or as Märt Väljataga puts it, significant meaning.

Giving a text more significance than it deserves leads to mythologizing. Great canonised ideas are born: art, science, utopia and so on. The merest revision of which unleashes a storm of anger from groups of philistines.

In this mythological world of idols float visions of Dietrich, Einstein and Heracles, and this metaphysical belief feeds the conviction that Malevich’s black square leads the way to the kingdom of the avant-garde. Mall Nukke shows us that these myths circle around like signs in our subconscious, and that they are projected as independent images into the media that surrounds us. Regardless of iconographic presentation, the supposed mythical content is archetypally unchangeable whether the myth is embodied by Ilja Muromets, Leida Peips or Mick Jagger.

Johannes Saar, art critic
Newspaper „Postimees“, 1995, 29 December

The presentation of the catalogue, „Collages 1993-2009“ at the Artdepoo Gallery.

Mall Nukke’s catalogue includes examples of her collage work between 1993 and 2009. She has chosen pieces for the catalogue, which offer a retrospective view of her work over the past 15 years. The artist considers the collage technique as her primary means of self-expression and the selected pieces reflect that conviction.
The catalogue comes with a DVD which includes two of her videos; „Sweet Home“ and „Idols II“. In addition, the DVD gives an overview of the panels made for Club Hollywood in 1996-97 and also boasts two musical compositions by Ardo Ran Varres, that were inspired by Mall’s two exhibitions; „Urbans I“ (2003) and „Possibilities II“ (2007).

An exhibition entitled „Mall Nukke’s Collages 1993-2009“, gives a brief overview of the work presented in the catalogue.