Sten Ojavee, Hanna Samoson and Mathias Väärsi 'Beginner's Luck'

On Thursday, 5 November, Beginner’s Luck, a group exhibition by Sten Ojavee, Hanna Samoson and Mathias Väärsi opens at Hobusepea Gallery.

The exhibition brings together three creative practitioners who share an interest in long-distance hiking, running and cycling. Drawing on their experience, Ojavee, Samoson and Väärsi explore these activities through art, bringing to the fore and amplifying the physical, mental and emotional experiences associated with endurance sports.

The exhibition stems from the trio’s shared interest in activities that require endurance, such as art and endurance sports, however, they all have different experiences, approaches and expectations to both fields. Both art and endurance sports are characterised by a certain absurdity: they can demand extraordinary dedication, thorough preparation and persistence, even when the purpose and meaning may remain unclear to the participants and to outside observers. Yet, this very contradiction opens up the possibility of understanding these activities not only through the end result, but also through the process itself.

Covering hundreds or thousands of kilometres requires a willingness to face the unexpected and to abandon initial plans. Endurance sports involve constantly testing your limits, competing with yourself and others, and continuously training and pushing both body and mind, while evoking fear, doubt, faith and hope.

Here, the paradox of escapism reveals itself: the desire to step away from everyday life, to experience freedom and embrace something unfamiliar and uncomfortable leads people into situations that demand extraordinary discipline, self-restraint, as well as physical and mental effort. The exhibition approaches endurance sports as a creative, meaningful and at times absurd endeavour, highlighting a surprising number of similarities it shares with art.

Sten Ojavee (b. 1989) is a curator and hiker. His curatorial practice focuses on how people develop their sense of identity and on examining the ideas and objects that shape it. He is particularly interested in fashion and clothing, exploring how they relate to the formation of taste and lifestyle choices. Ojavee works as a curator at the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art.

Hanna Samoson (b. 1987) is an artist and traveller whose practice encompasses photography, video, installation and performance art. Her work brings together intuition and spontaneity, a heightened awareness of time and absurdist humour. Samoson explores questions of grief, identity and the environment, approaching broader social realities from an intimate and personal perspective.

Mathias Väärsi (b. 1988) is an artist and ultra-distance cyclist whose work brings together physical and mental endurance, repetition, duration and the exploration of human limits. Väärsi has taken part in some of the world’s most demanding ultra-distance cycling races and organises ultra events in Estonia. In his artistic practice, he explores ultra-endurance through personal experience as well as broader questions of human effort, willpower and absurdity.

The exhibition is supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Ledzep Group, Estonian Society of Art Historians and Curators, ArtProof, Hundipea and Sportrec.

Editing and translation: Keiu Krikmann (Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art)

Installation team: Aksel Haagensen, Johannes Säre

Sound: Martin Kikas

Graphic design: Mathias Väärsi

Thank you: Valge Kuup, Estonian Academy of Arts, Kaarin Kivirähk, Mikk Lahesalu, Kristel Jänes, Taavet Kohal, Stemo Ojavee, Mirjam Reili, Edith Karlson, Tõnu Narro, Eliann Tulve, Johanna Ruukholm, Elo Vahtrik, Joosep Kivimäe, Sander Värv, Kristjan Pütsep, Mariel Värk, Taavi Rekkaro, Yina Jimenéz Suriel, Uku, families, companions, Life, Love and the Creator, Aimur Takk.