Annelinn, Tartu. Old family photo albums mostly have pictures of birthdays, weddings and funerals. People are stiff, looking into the camera. Everyday domestic life is a rare find. My photo stack is pretty much the opposite. So here’s one family photo as it’s supposed to be.
Pictures: Eesti home through the eyes of photographer Tõnu Runnel
Thousands of Estonians of the worldwide diaspora are flocking towards their tiny home between the Baltic Sea and Lake Peipus every summer. More locally, those living in the cities and towns move to villages and summer houses – almost like a great seasonal migration between the summer and winter pastures.
Estonia lies so far north that during the brief summer we don’t see much darkness. As if it’s just one very long day filled with near-constant light – and flies past in an instant.
Here are some pictures from the places that feel like home to me.
Supilinn, Tartu. When temperatures start to rise, clothes fall off and windows fly open. There’s really no time to waste – each warm day is counted and skis are already lurking behind the door. Soon it would be too hot, but occasional rain and thunder bring temperatures back down to bearable levels.Supilinn, Tartu. As grown-ups retreat indoors and sit on window sills during the powerful summer rains, kids remain outside – this is their kingdom now.Supilinn, Tartu. Singing with joy in his natural habitat – water. Another situation that makes one sing at home besides bathing and showering is cooking – if you take it slowly enough.Supilinn, Tartu. Everyone wants to have their own home. Built by yourself, with your own hands. It can be small – it can be really tiny – but it’s yours and yours only. Home is where your bed is.Annelinn, Tartu. I grew up in Soviet modernist projects like this one. Not quite as dense and a bit more green, but the overall feeling was similar. You can’t do much here outdoors – therefore many spend as much time in their small summer houses (dachas) in the countryside. Both the houses and the pavement radiate heat – so it gets pretty hot here. And it‘s actually oddly enjoyable.Tähtvere, Tartu. Back in the day streets here were filled with kids. Now families are smaller and children have calendars full of expensive hobbies, organised by their parents. They don’t have as much time to slack off as we did a few decades ago. Even birthday parties aren’t usually held at homes but at some rented event location. Therefore seeing a swarm of neighbourhood kids like this at someone’s home is a pretty special occasion.Supilinn, Tartu. Around the world home means Sunday morning with pancakes and coffee. Local speciality is to have the cakes thick and small – made with sour milk or quark.Supilinn, Tartu. Around the world home means Sunday morning with pancakes and coffee. Local speciality is to have the cakes thick and small – made with sour milk or quark.Supilinn, Tartu. Supilinn has it’s fair share of cats looking out of the worn-out window frames. This one guards a travelling art exhibition set up in someone’s nice little home – and becomes itself inspiration for subsequent pieces of art.Kalamaja, Tallinn. When moving to a new place, one needs to make it feel like home. Peeling off a layer of shabby decoration in order to replace it with one of your liking reveals another and below it another layer of previous similar attempts. So far for me every little peel-off has resulted in a total teardown. And right before the start of reconstruction it tends to look most picturesque.Meelva near Räpina. In southern Estonia smoke saunas were as important parts of the households as showers and baths are now. Now old ones are being restored and some new ones get built.Raekoja plats, Tartu. We spend so big part of our wake time at work that it should feel like home. Better yet – build a kitchen and invite friends over if you can.Kulgu, Narva. Some older Soviet-flavored couples keep peace in their marriages so that the lady is in charge at the apartment whereas the husband keeps tinkering at the garage – whenever the weather is fine enough. The garages are clustered into blocks away from the house. Slowly each garage becomes kind of a summer house and the cluster around it starts to look like a village – inhabited exclusively by men.Meelva near Räpina. Most of the Estonian villages are sparsely populated. Instead of cramming houses into one place and tilling the fields around it, each house was surrounded by it’s own fields and woods when possible. You often don’t see any other house than your own.Supilinn, Tartu. For those who don’t migrate away in August, a peaceful time begins in autumn. There’s no rush, no need to fill up your calendar with friends, events and almost obligatory enjoyment. Now you don’t have to worry about the unforgiving pace of time anymore. You can just work, learn or hibernate. Finally you are free again.Supilinn, Tartu. The Japanese moment of Estonia – instead of the cherries blossoming – the apple trees signal us the beginning of summer. We move outdoors, to cook and to eat, to read and to sleep. This is a rooftop terrace on top of a wood shed – summer literally throning above winter.
Elasin täpselt seal Nõlvakus ja ma kuulen venekeelset sõna suvila jaoks esimest korda. 90ndatel ja kuni 2010 seal vene keelt laialdaselt kindlasti ei räägitud. Kuigi venelasi oli, siis domineeris ikka eesti keel. Muidu ägedad pildid ja oli tore äratundmisrõõmu Nõlvaku pildi näol tunda;)
To its credit, Runnel’s work lifts the curtain on a less sophisticated Estonia than I’m used to seeing as an American-Estonian. It reminds me of Estonia in the 1970s and 1980s; I can almost smell it. It surprised me, and that is an attribute of good art.
Bravo, Tõnu!
🙂
Dacha? really? Maybe suvila in estonian. They never where called dachas in Estonia, as we speak estonian here
Tegin pildi Annelinna tagumises otsas, Nõlvakul. Seal elab väga palju vene keele rääkijaid. Sellest ka datša just kitsalt selles kontekstis.
Elasin täpselt seal Nõlvakus ja ma kuulen venekeelset sõna suvila jaoks esimest korda. 90ndatel ja kuni 2010 seal vene keelt laialdaselt kindlasti ei räägitud. Kuigi venelasi oli, siis domineeris ikka eesti keel. Muidu ägedad pildid ja oli tore äratundmisrõõmu Nõlvaku pildi näol tunda;)
I love it. Everyday I fell more in love with Estonia and his people.
Ma armastan Tartut.
To its credit, Runnel’s work lifts the curtain on a less sophisticated Estonia than I’m used to seeing as an American-Estonian. It reminds me of Estonia in the 1970s and 1980s; I can almost smell it. It surprised me, and that is an attribute of good art.
Well, thank you, sir!
Kunst kunstiks , aga hea ülevaade välismaalastele , kuidas eestlased elavad ? !
Väga mõnusad pildid. Jutt ka. Eriti kõnetab jutt viimase pildi juures suvisest almost obligatory enjoyment`ist 🙂