Lauri Koppel's exhibition “Demiurge's Tupperware”

Lauri Koppel's personal exhibition “Demiurge's Tupperware” will be open in Draakon gallery from Tuesday, September 13th, 2020. Exhibition will stay open until October 31st, 2020.

The idea of the world being an abnormal state is emphasized by Gnosticism, a collection of religious ideas and systems originating from early Christian and Jewish sects. Demiurge, a fallen divine but evil being has created a world of negative matter. A global direct seller company Tupperware produces plastic containers for food storage and preparation - the hermetic and waterproof containers of various shapes have become a part of today's household culture.

There is a pressurized social utopia present in the neglected summer cottages, built during the Soviet era. The Modernist way of thinking was applied in construction process, with the aim of humanising the functionalist architecture. Summer cottages were meant to provide the ultimate rational space for recreation – such fashionable keywords as 'organic architecture' and 'cornice architecture' were expressed in the cottages dating back to the times of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Estonia. However, instead of neatness and cleanliness, something else has intruded into the cottages – something that should not have been there. Illnesses and death.

Empty spaces without people living inside will go on living on their own. While observing some forsaken hedonistic temple of the sun on a cold day, condensed water can be seen on the window panes. The Northern coast of Estonia has numerous similar deserted summer houses without owners, buildings that lie between the outer and inner temperatures. On my long walks, I started to notice the mental and physical pollution on Modernist form of expression caused by time. Summer cottages do not fit into the model of market economy. Lots of buildings of a refined architectural taste have been torn down. Some of these have been renovated or conservated with cheap building materials. Many of these cottages have been replaced by residential houses that have been constructed in conditions of negotiable building acts.

Exhibition Demiurge's Tupperware is a paranoid view to our collapsing architectural heritage with the examples of summer cottages. Time is merciless and Demiurge is its devilish governer. If there is no one left in the space, then who will be there? It is Demiurge, in the Demiurge's personal airtight storage box. While speaking about the failure of architecture, then it is the easiest way to start with the Soviet-time summer cottage. With its strict geometry it is an organized space with clear borders to be observed. And Demiurge is grinning. Now and forever.

Lauri Koppel is a visual artist who mostly uses the means of printmaking and photography in his artwork. He has obtained MA degree in the department of printmaking at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2012. The arist is a member of Ubu Noir printmaking studio.

Supporters: Rein Muuluka, Ingvar Toomas Heamägi, Mario Ansip, Gennadi Baranov, Gudrun Koppel and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.