Tanel Veenre
BeforeAfter
June 24, through July 16, 2023
Ornamentum welcomes Tanel Veenre for the opening of BeforeAfter.
Based in Talinn, Estonian jeweler Tanel Veenre is a romantic. Fairytales and ritual are often the themes, his jewelry wears as much as mystic talismans as they are adornment. A passion for music (and coming from a family of artists and musicians) shows though in his use of violin bridges and tuning pegs as design elements in older works, a theme develped further in BeforeAfter, as wooden organ pipes form the material basis of his newest works- works that transform to performative pieces as a breath of air can enable the adornment to produce tone.
Veenre has held the position of Professor at the Estonian Arts Academy, where he continues to teach courses. Veenre's works can be found in collections such as the Swiss National Museum, CODA Museum in Apeldoorn, NL and the Estonian National Museum.
BeforeAfter is Tanel Veenre's 4th solo exhibition at Ornamentum.
Tanel Veenre
Ex Post
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
No matter how hard people try to stop it, it is the fate of culture to be in constant flux. Therefore, we have lost beautiful songs and melodies, recipes, rituals and festivities, skills handed over from one generation to the next, the ability to write a letter by hand, while even the ability to darn socks has become a niche activity. The list of lost, or rapidly disappearing, immaterial cultural heritage, from public knowledge to specialized skills and tacit knowledge, is longer than ever in history.
But with the loss, new possibilities arise. The sense of loss should not paralyze us and prevent us from giving new meaning to things that have fallen into oblivion. Right now, when discarded things are still around us, we can play with them to discover their potential. Changing perspectives and visions can breathe new life into them. This is what happened in the new series of Tanel Veenre.
When Tanel was a child, his father, a musician and restorer of wooden furniture and instruments, bought a pair of wooden home organs with the aim to restore them. One renovation was completed but the other, much bigger one, remained unfinished. Some years ago, the remaining pile of pipes ended up in Tanel’s studio. In 2021 he used them to form the background for his flamboyant ebony heart jewellery in the exhibition “Organ” (Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, Tallinn, 2021 & Platina gallery, Stockholm, 2022). The black organic pieces were positioned on the cuboid wooden organ pipes, left intact and mounted on a long wall. With a little imagination you could still see the old organ, but it was silent. This installation was a homage to his father, his father’s passion as the backbone of the son’s jewellery.
It worked as a catalyst because the flutes (as wooden pipes are called) didn’t leave Tanel. After the exhibition he went one step further. He considered the rectangular pipes as a new material for his work. Cut in pieces, twisted, and then glued together he could make shapes that relate to the organic curves of the human body. Tanel asked his father to take care of the finish of each piece by sanding the material and adding a layer of paint, stains, varnish, or wax where needed. This way a new understanding between father and son started, where both invested their knowledge, passion, skills, and love for work and for each other.
The work offered a window to the world of the old crafts: they found the original organ builders’ marks on each pipe and discovered that each one - even if cut and glued - still had its own sound. The mouth of the pipe is the most charged and intimate part, where a human becomes one with the instrument while blowing his breath into it. They seem to beg for an interaction, for air being pushed through it releasing a sound, which seems especially exciting for the earrings made from the smallest flutes. That is why the artist also devised ways to make the objects and jewellery sound again. Just like historic organs that were operated with the help of mechanics, water pressure, piston pumps, and bellows, some of Tanel’s objects will be breathed new life with the help of compressors that release their warm sound.
But sound is ethereal as air, sound from flutes needs air and human interaction to be heard. One can blow on the wearable flutes to hear their sound but when worn this is probably not the most expected thing to do. Yet the sound can be imagined, and in some pieces, Tanel added carved rock crystal pipes as a metaphor for the absent sound. This mesmerizing transparent material, resembling thin air or ice, has exactly the right properties to evoke something that is not there. One piece of jewellery is dedicated to Kadri Mälk (1959-2023), Tanel’s artistic mentor and friend, who holds a significant place in his life. The piece has a carved rock crystal pipe that could be a new beginning, clear and light, while the tiny original wooden pipe will be buried with her ashes.
When you walk into a church, the sound of an organ being played can embrace you, it is inviting – even if you are not religious. Loose organ pipes can be sad and leave us with a feeling of bereavement, especially when thinking about the function they once had in a community accompanying weekly services and special events in the life of people. The ascetic bare material of the wooden organ Tanel and his father worked with, once aligned with the simple rural Protestant communities, where singing along was the way to connect with God. They brought the organ pipes back to life. Now they connect with people and with space in a novel way. They can be worn, heard, and interacted with. There is a postexistence after all.
Liesbeth den Besten
24.03.2023
