Aerial view of Tallinn
Born in Parnu, Flo Kasearu creates performance, video, painting, drawing, sculpture and installation to explore topics such as domestic violence, unemployment, gender identity, freedom, patriotism, the oppositions between public and private space... her creation process is also fueled by her own biography. In fact, one of her most interesting projects is her own house, turned into a museum, Flo Kasearu's House Museum, in Tallinn.
This interview is part of "The World Made Local", a global project of Condé Nast Traveler in the seven international editions, which gives voice to 100 people in 100 countries to find out why her own territory should be your next destination.
What connection do you have with the city, with Tallinn.
I live in a 110-year-old house, built by my great-grandparents, in a neighborhood called Pelgulinn, to the north. Since I moved in 2009, the gentrification is also living with me. The smallness of the Tallinn art scene has made me broaden the art game to include public space. That's why I decided to turn my house into a house museum. That is my way of finding myself and adapting to the city. I play my own institutional game. A very important place for me is my country house, in the middle of the Estonian forests and fields. This possibility has allowed me to learn to build everything myself and have another life outside.
What names of interesting artists do you recommend following?
In Tallinn there are many institutions for classical contemporary art: the galleries Arthall + Arthall, EKKM, Kai, Kumu , Temnikova & Kasela gallery... We have many very good contemporary artists. There is a database In case anyone wants to check it out a bit. But unfortunately, there are not too many cultural spaces run by artists.
Your favorite places, which you always return to?
the lake of mukri swamp and the road to Maardu. The swamps are our treasures. Here every 10 km you can put your legs up to the knees. My favourite, the one in Mukri, is in the middle of the country, on the way to the country house and most of the time it is totally empty and silent. You only find mosquitoes, a tower and hiking trails and you can swim in the water.
If a friend was visiting Estonia, what places would you recommend?
Kalma Saun , although I have never been... Also driving through neighborhoods like Kopli, Lasnamäe Y Õismäe Y name and the North Shore, which are a very different experience from that of. the city. As you head to Lasnamägi, you have to go through it Kumu art museum. also go to Kopli with the tram and walk along the beach Paljassaare Pikakari either linnahall to rest and finish at the bar Kolm lõvi "Three Lions" or somewhere in Telliskivi. In Õismäe, take a look around the neighborhood Väike-Õismägi, where you will have the feeling of being in front of a large circle of houses, all the same. Anyone who has visited some countries of the former Soviet Union, the architecture of this place and that of Lasnamägi it will be very familiar to you. Yes indeed, I do not recommend cycling through the cities, because they are still very car-oriented, unfortunately. Hopefully it will change in the future.
Your latest discoveries?
This summer I discovered Kiipsaare Lighthouse, in Saaremaa. It emerges from the water and you can swim around it, even climb the tower. It's a nice walk around the Harilaiu hiking trail and you can camp on the nearby beach with no one around. True, this in Estonia is a special thing: being able to travel feeling as if you were alone in the world, with your tent and camping on long sandy beaches with no one else.