Sauna by Tauris Reose, Taavi Teevet and Karl Uustal

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Tauris Reose, Taavi Teevet, Karl Uustal

Or perhaps the fault lies in the mystique emerging from the surreal origins of the space called sauna? A door to another world has been opened, the sauna benches often referred to as “stage” filled with a reality shifted? A golden sauna whisk, a steaming ladle stretched to the ceiling, bronze stove stones, melted soaps – these are items that seem foreign to the average day at Kalma sauna, but are nonetheless recognizable to any self-respecting sauna enthusiast.

Historically, the sauna has been a threshold for practical needs and mystical world encounters. People washed themselves in the sauna to put on their Sunday church clothes and prepare for a spiritual cleansing experience. In the sauna, yeast was raised for brewing, meat was dried, births occurred, and when someone died, they were taken to the sauna and were washed for the last time.

The Vepsians refer to the sauna in their tradition as a door to the other world. In Mulgimaa, it was said: “The sauna is a holier place than the church,” and Tammsaare wrote: “...When people have been to the sauna together, they form a kinship, become almost friends. The sauna equalizes everyone. The sauna is like a grave.”

The sauna is a complex concept, yet a structure that is both immensely clear and simple. On the sauna bench, things are in order. Water is thrown on the stove when most express the desire to do so. If the heat hits the body too hard or if the circumstances become too heavy for the spirit, there is always an option to leave. One can be naked or wrapped in a towel on the bench, wear swimming trunks or bikinis, put on a felt sauna hat, and protect their toes with slippers. In the sauna, you can be yourself.

Today, this structure has come under the scrutiny of various sciences and pseudosciences. Articles on the harmfulness and benefits of the sauna are being published, attempts are made to find the most correct steam temperature and procedure duration to achieve the greatest utility. Experts have emerged who meticulously arrange stove stones before every sauna ceremony, prepare ethereal tinctures in witch cauldrons, mumble steam acceptance mantras, give long lectures on when, how, and with what to make the right whisk, and always find some minor or major flaw in every sauna they visit.

According to the artists, there is only one simple golden rule in the sauna world: the best sauna is the one you happen to be in, and it is recommended to collect the branches for whisking once you have a plan to head to the sauna.

Taavi Teevet, Karl Uustal, and Tauris Reose are three Estonian artists and friends who met during their metal arts studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. SAUNA is their first joint exhibition project.

Taavi Teevet (1996) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts (Design and Applied Arts MA cum laude 2023) and has worked there since 2021 as a master and supervisor of metal workshops. In 2023, Teevet received the Young Applied Artist Award from the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Marzee Contemporary Jewelry Gallery Graduates Exhibition Award. Teevet has participated in exhibitions in Estonia, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, the UK, Portugal, and the USA. He is fascinated by the symbiosis of materials and technologies, experimental advancements of classical technologies, and the play of material memory and charge.

Karl Uustal (1999) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in the field of metal arts (Jewelry and Metal Arts BA 2021). Uustal sees himself not only as an artist but also as a craftsman and is interested in the emotions related to craftsmanship. In his creative practice, the process of experimentation and its surprising manifestations are important to him. His main mediums of expression are wood and metal. Through these two materials, he finds vital and historical connections between nature and technology.

Tauris Reose (1996) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in the field of metal arts (Jewelry and Metal Arts BA 2021) and has also furthered his studies at the University of Gothenburg, Steneby in Sweden. He is an alumnus of the Märjamaa Music and Art School (2012) and works there as a teacher. His works have been exhibited in Estonia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Portugal. The recurring themes in the artist's work are overthinking and the search for spiritual balance.