Sadness Factory / Kurbusetehas
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from the underwater series
mold-blown and free-blown glass, site-specific photography, digital video 2017 sadness factory is a multimedia project that combines glass art with underwater photography, video and installation. sadness factory is a narrative created by the artist, where events take place both under as above the water and where everything is moving towards a seeming chaos, but no one knows what happens next. Inspired by the topic of mental illness, it's a factory that doesn't exist for the human eye, but where there is constant producing and growing of sadness. “Motive: drowning. This excellent factory I have built, slowly and carefully – the victory is yours. So pull us both now underwater. I am dead-tired of this endless drifting.” Being a hobby freediver together with his boyfriend and glass artist Rait Lõhmus, Maarja Mäemets has been experimenting with underwater photography for the last few years. From the solitude and remoteness found underwater, the artist finds it to be the best place to exhibit her current work as a glass artist but also an artist in whole. The series consists of different glass pieces drowned in Rummu Quarry, Estonia and on Krk island, Croatia sadness factory was displayed at the ”Stanislav Libensky Award 2018” exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic Video editing by Rait Lõhmus. Photos by Rait Lõhmus and Maarja Mäemets |