Fotografiska, an exhibition space in Tallinn, Estonia, displays the new works of Kaupo Kikkas who is known for his portraits of renowned Estonian classical musicians.
“The exhibition ‘Inner cosmos’ reveals the magic of being human, as seen through the eyes of the artist. The show offers a metaphysical view on humankind, asking questions about who we are and where we are going. Large format black and white photos deeply touch upon the fundamentals of being human that people often lose sight of,” Fotografiska Tallinn said in a statement.
“I came up with an idea of a parallel and slightly out of sync time and space, inhabited by people just like us. Their physiology and behaviour seem familiar, yet we cannot say we fully understand them. This contradiction opens a gap between us but also opens a window into the surreal landscape of ‘inner space’,” Kikkas added in a statement.
The photographer has worked on the material and theme of “Inner cosmos” since 2017. The exhibition also includes a book of the same title, a collection of NFTs (digital contracts that allow people to prove they own specific online assets, like official copies of a given artwork) and an audio piece created by Sven Sosnitski.
An international photographer
Kikkas is well-known for his portraits of some of the most famous Estonian classical musicians, such as composer Arvo Pärt and conductors Paavo Järvi and Kristiina Poska.
The artist received his formal training in photography at Finland’s Visual Arts Institute but attributes his classical music portraits to his education in that field – he learned to play clarinet and saxophone and also took singing lessons.
In addition to classical music portraits, Kikkas’s personal photography projects include a study of graveyards, a portrait series of shale miners and images of a lost cinema in the Egyptian desert.
Kikkas has also photographed a number of book- and classical music album covers and frequently works in London, Berlin and in the US.
“Inner Cormos” will be open at Fotografiska in Tallinn’s Telliskivi Creative City from 4 February until 15 May 2022.
