Le lieu unique, Nantes, France
October 21, 2018 – January 6, 2019

“Premonition” was commissioned for the exhibition “Descending from the liquid horizon” at le lieu unique, Nantes, curated by Kati Ilves.

“The artist and theorist Hito Steyerl has found data to be the new tool for survival, which, considering the choice of vocabulary, will place us at the dawn of a new epoch. Terms like data “farming” and “harvesting”, “mining” and “extraction” are all rather pastoral, allowing the current era to be defined as Data Neolithic and place us – the current inhabitants – in a state of transformation. The recent dystopian sci-fi trilogy Hunger Games created a post-apocalyptic high tech realm, where people of the lower classes hunted and gathered for survival while using developed platforms for communication. Mixtures of the archaic and contemporary are symptomatic of the current day: we are farming, harvesting, mining and excavating again for new material, partially out of fear and uncertainty, but also because these activities were built into our genetic survival kits millennia ago. “Excavating” the past describes Laura Põld’s practice as well. She used archaic materials, such as clay, reeds and wool, in a pottery-based installation. Her site-specific work takes architecture into consideration: the former LU biscuit factory building is rich in architectural layers and Põld works from its red brick wall. Blending this specific aesthetics with ancient warrior masks and warfare-related objects, Põld’s created zone blends the dichotomies of the archaic and contemporary, domestic and public, and war and peace. Her works could serve as a monument of the in between, pregnant with speculations, references and prophecies.” – Kati Ilves

Photos by Kristina Õllek

Estonian Contemporary Art Museum (EKKM), Tallinn, Estonia
Sept 29 – Nov 4, 2018

“How to: Live: Virtual Biographies”, exhibition and collaboration between artists Ingrid Allik, Dre Britton and Laura Põld, was curated by Marika Agu.

Kogo Gallery, Tartu, Estonia
July 21 – Sept. 8, 2018

Installation “A necklace, a ladle, a touching vase and other recollections in clay” was part of the group show “Everyday Witchcraft”, curated by Merilin Talumaa. The exhibition examined everyday practices and habits as a significant part of art practice. Perceiving these practices as rituals, it is possible to create (fictitious) narratives and myths about artists’ work process and creativity. The exhibition focused on different daily experiments and stagings, and on the accompanying obsessions, fetishes, hopes and fears that will eventually become the central part of creative works. Participating artists: Jaakko Pallasvuo, Anna Mari Liivrand, Kristel Saan, GolfClayderman and Laura Põld.

Photos by Madis Kats

Kunda Cement Museum, Kunda, Estonia
June 15 – Sept. 30 2018

A residency Kunda and interventions at Kunda Cement Museum were part of the exhibition series “Artists in Collections”, including 10 Estonian artists. The ambitious project was curated by Maarin Ektermann and Mary-Ann Talvistu. Laura Põld built an alternative path inside the permanent exhibition at Kunda Cement Museum. The latter familiarizes visitors with how cement was invented and first put to use, the process of manufacturing it and the history of Kunda cement factory. Põld told a story of the town, its natural resources and manufacturing history, but in a more abstract and poetic manner.

The history of the town of Kunda is completely intertwined with cement manufacturing, from the entrepreneurial manor owner John Karl Girard de Soucanton (1826–1896), commonly known as Suka Anton, to the modern AS Kunda Nordic Cement factory today, praised by both its employees as well as townspeople. The days when grey dust covered Kunda are in the past and the town’s various formations make for an exciting exploration for both local as well as foreign tourists.

Read more about “Artists in Collections” at www.proloogkool.eu

Photos by Mari-Leen Kiipli