Productions

Idea and performance Kristina Norman
Dramaturge Linda Kaljundi
Featured in the videos Eko Supriyanto, Putri Novalita, Karolin Poska, Teresa Silva, Mari Mägi
Music Märt-Matis Lill, Dimawan Krisnowo Adji
Videos and technical solutions Erik Norkroos
On the stage Janis Valk
Light design Henry Kasch
Author of "Anggrek" Eko Supriyanto

A girl from Tartu, Estonia becomes a white lady on the island of Java; a lady becomes an orchid; a lady of the manor becomes an artist; a servant becomes a lady of the manor; a manor becomes a NATO base. Estonian peat moss becomes the growing substrate for moon orchids in Dutch nurseries. Could the peat just be moss in a bog and an orchid just another plant in nature?

Orchidelirium Expanded is a special screening, consisting of Kristina Norman's film trilogy (Shelter, Rip-off and Thirst) and Eko Supriyanto's film Anggrek (Orchid) together with a performance contextualising the films.

The creative dialogue between Norman and Supriyanto was inspired by the links between the colonial histories of Estonia and Indonesia. The films were inspired by the rediscovery of the biography and work of Emilie Rosalie Saal, an Estonian-born botanical artist and orchid collector. Between 1899–1920 Emilie lived in Indonesia on the island of Java in Indonesia together with her husband Andres Saal, a writer and an official working for the Dutch colonial power. She created numerous botanical drawings of the tropical flora. The performance explores what remains hidden in the images of idealised and exoticised plants.

Norman's and Supriyanto's films were created for the exhibition Orchidelirium. An Appetite for Abundance that represented Estonia at the 59th International Venice Biennale (2022). The exhibition was curated by Corina L. Apostol, also included artworks by Bita Razavi and was commissioned by Maria Arusoo (CCA). Norman's films were produced by Rühm Pluss Null and Supriyanto's film was produced by Eko's Dance & Sadiah Curates.

Each performance is followed by a discussion.

Trained as an artist, Kristina Norman is active both in the field of contemporary art and documentary filmmaking. When addressing issues of collective memory and forgetting, and the memorial uses of public space, she often searches for ways to physically and symbolically intervene in the environments in focus. While many of her art projects are presented in the form of video installations, site-specificity and performativity are of great importance in these works. Her most recent works deal with exploring the thin boundaries between the human and the animal, being an European and the histories of Estonians becoming white.

In Estonian
Duration: 120', with the talk