Vormimine, haamerdamine, pinguldamine, mässimine, nõelumine – kõik see iseloomustab Merlin Meremaa-Piho objekte, mis on valminud raudniidist. Raud materjalina on teadupärast tuntud oma tugevuse, vastupidavuse, raskuse ja sitkuse poolest. Kunstnik on võtnud ette töötada selle materjaliga mitte ootuspärasel viisil – materjal avaldub tema töödes peaaegu ebastabiilses, vahepealses ja ebakindlas olekus. Teosed on loodud kümnetest, peenikese raudniidi kihtide omavahelisest korduvast ühendamisest, tulemuseks on tihe struktuur, kude – kooselu haprusest ja tugevusest.
Käesoleval näitusel tegeleb kunstnik nõrkuse, hapruse, efemeersuse ning haavatavuse teemadega – nende meile kõigile tuttavate seisundite ja omadustega, mida sageli soovitakse varjata, kardetakse välja näidata. Näitusel on eksponeeritud tema uusim anumaseeria, mis pühendub paralleelidele inimeseksolemise ja raua sarnasuste vahel. Tugevuse ja nõrkuse vahel paistab pealtnäha laiutavat vastuolu - rauale on ikka omistatud tugevust ent nii nagu inimestena soovime näida tugevad, peitub ka rauas see hapram pool.
Merlin Meremaa-Piho on lõpetanud Eesti Kunstiakadeemia ehtekunsti eriala magistrikraadiga 2019. aastal ja täiendanud end Saksamaal Idar-Obersteinis Trieri Rakenduskõrgkoolis ning Tais, Bangkoki Silpakorni Ülikoolis. Ta on osalenud näitustel alates 2014 nii Eestis kui välismaal. Noore kunstniku loomingut on tunnustatud Hollandi kaasaegse ehte galerii Marzee Graduate Prize’i preemiaga (2019). Tema loomingut leidub Saksamaal asuvas Kolumba muuseumi kogus kui ka erakogudes mitmel pool maailmas. Hetkel töötab ta vabakutselise ehtekunstnikuna ja on tegev ehtekunstistuudios Stuudio 103.
Merlin Meremaa-Piho pälvis eelmisel aastal EKA lõputööde näitusel TASE Noore Tarbekunstniku preemia, millega kaasnes Eesti Kunstiakadeemia ja Eesti Kunstnike Liidu koostöös käesoleva isikunäituse korraldamise võimalus Hop galeriis.
Näitust toetab Eesti Kultuurkapital.
Näitusi Hop galeriis toetavad Eesti Kultuuriministeerium, Eesti Kultuurkapital ja Liviko AS.
Seoses COVID-19 leviku kasvuga Eestis jätab Hop galerii aasta lõpuni ära kõik näituste avamised.
Moulding, hammering, stretching, wrapping, sewing – all this characterizes Merlin Meremaa-Piho's objects made of iron thread. Iron as a material is well-known for its strength, durability, heaviness and resistance. The artist has approached the material in her own unexpected way – in her artwork, iron is expressed almost in an unstable, precarious and in-between state. The pieces have created through repetitive connections between the dozens of layers of thin iron threads, this resulting in a dense structure, or tissue-like weave, so that a co-existence of fragility and strength is born.
At her present exhibition, Meremaa-Piho contemplates the themes of weakness, fragility, ephemeralness and vulnerability – all these qualities and conditions that are familiar to us, and that we most of the times prefer to hide. The artist exposes her newest series of vessels that has been dedicated to the parallels between the similarites of being a human being and iron as a material. There seems to be a seemingly extensive conflict between strength and weakness – iron has been always characterized as a strong material; however, similarly to human beings who yearn for feeling strong, iron also has a fragile side in it.
Merlin Meremaa-Piho has obtained MA degree in jewellery art at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2019 and additionally studied at the University of Trier, Germany as well as at Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She has participated in exhibitions since 2014 both in Estonia and abroad. The young artist's artwork has been acknowledged with the Marzee Graduate Prize (2019). Her artworks can be found in the collection of Kolumba Museum, Cologne, Germany and in several private collections all over the world. Currently she works as a freelance jewellery artist and is practising in a jewellery studio “Stuudio 103”.
Merlin Meremaa-Piho was awarded the Young Applied Artist Award at EKA graduation show TASE 2019 that provided the artist possibility to hold a personal exhibition in HOP gallery in collaboration with Estonian Academy of Arts and Estonian Artists' Association.
Exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Exhibitions in HOP gallery are supported by Estonian Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Liviko Ltd.
Exhibition openings in HOP gallery will be cancelled until the end of 2020 due to the growth of COVID-19 cases in Estonia.