Ave Vellesalu Murd “Memoria”

Ave Vellesalu Murd ''Memoria"

Natural elements, constantly evolving entities, creatures with endless energy and interdependence – water, plants, landforms, landscapes, air – each of them can symbolize the beginning and end of life, while creating a life cycle that suits them perfectly in order to move and evolve perpetually without faltering. Human adapts to different environments by creating a familiar place for themselves in each one. The pre-designed space, shaped by each individual according to their lifestyle, intertwines with the wild nature, where randomness and organized chaos build themselves in parallel.

We desire and need nature around us, but we try to fully control and “tame” it. Under what conditions and how close do we allow nature to ourselves? How close does nature let us come?
Ave Vellesalu’s Memoria talks about ‘blowing away pain’ both in a literal and metaphorical sense. In childhood, there was always someone nearby who blew on the wound or sore spot, instantly dispelling the discomfort. When in early autumn the warm summer wind blows on the yellowed leaves outside, they fall to the ground, caught by the movement of the air. The leaves, having lived their lives, are like a burden on the tree, akin to painful memories arising from unexpected incidents that need to be pushed out of memory to make room for
new and better growth in the spring. The dried up tree is in the ground, and behind the tree, a video and audio loop of people
‘blowing’ towards the tree is projected, accompanied by the pre-recorded blowing sounds of all the blowers simultaneously playing from the speakers. At the same time, hidden fans are directed towards the tree, so that the tree actually moves and the leaves fall.

Ave Vellesalu-Murd is a multidisciplinary artist from Rapla, currently living and working in Tallinn. In her works, the artist often creates moving spatial installations, interweaving video and sound with them. Natural elements are of primary importance in her materials, forming artificial spatial experiences

Vellesalu-Murd studied contemporary art at the Estonian Academy of Arts and received further training at the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts. She is also a co-founder and member of the local art-pop duo Vera Vice.