🎨 HIGH SCHOOL YEARS (2000-2013) 

​Growing up in a highly artistic environment ensured a strong foundation for my art practice, as I attended an art-oriented high school called Pelgulinna Gymnasium. The in-depth program focused on theoretical knowledge, technical skills, and critical qualities, as we were assigned to regularly visit and write reviews about art exhibitions, which was definitely crucial for my analytical development and interest in art criticism later on.
Through school, I also gained extracurricular opportunities to participate in collective projects, such as an architectural model building competition, painting a changing cabinet at the beach, and building a fire sculpture from old Christmas trees.
Next to school assignments, I undertook several self-initiated art projects, such as two flower-themed collections for a school fashion show, a humorous video about the end of the world for a school party, a video work in response to the occurrence that my chocolate sculpture got eaten during an exhibition at school, and an experimental performance interacting with homeless dogs in Bulgaria.
In 2013, after graduating from high school, I had my first solo exhibition at the Metropol Gallery in Tallinn, where I showcased a graduation project called “In the Battlefield of Relationships," which was a multidisciplinary work about the complexity of learning to trust again after getting hurt.

🦺 ESTONIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS (2013-2014)

After high school, I continued my artistic exploration at the Estonian Academy of Arts in the sculpture and installation department, which was a fruitful period for my artistic practice. The study program was a combination of conceptual critical reflections and traditional subjects, such as anatomy, color studies, and composition.
For the entrance exam, I created an installation reflecting on gender inequality.
During the studies, my artistic focus was on performative exploration and developing contextual awareness, as I made art works, such as:
"Ghost of Kreenholm," a performative installation at the abandoned Kreenholm factory in Narva, in which I placed a photo series of myself wearing the clothes of an old factory worker in the room of the factory.
"In the Middle," a performative work in which I walked barefoot from my father's house to my mother's house to emphasize the struggles of being a child of divorced parents.
"Tram Dinner," a public space performance where, in collaboration with three other students, we had a candlelight dinner in public transport.
"Tulips," an installative intervention in which I folded 100 origami tulips and placed them at dog poop in public space.
"Too Deep," an assemblage as a critical remark on the art world being an isolated entity and inaccessible for regular people, which reflected on my own artistic ambition of reaching the general public with my work.

🚀 GAP-YEAR IN BERLIN (2014-2015) 

​After my first study year, I decided to take a gap year and move to Berlin to challenge my artistic ambition in a real-life context.
Before moving to Berlin, I hosted a farewell gathering in my home garden, during which I showed a painting series reflecting on the economic struggles of becoming an artist, a video installation symbolizing the feeling of being stuck in which I threw myself against the walls of the garage, an installation about the excessive need for safety, an interactive installation allowing people to draw on old dusty windows, and a performative happening in which I symbolically planted all my friends and family in my garden.
During the year in Berlin, I was highly motivated to pursue my artistic ambitions, so by persistently responding to all open calls that I could find, I managed to get opportunities to participate in three small-scale group exhibitions in Berlin, London, and Barcelona.
Also during that time period, I traveled to several cities to visit art exhibitions, and in each city, I created a performative conceptual artwork in which I purchased the city map, then wrote one word in the local language on the map, and documented my walking journey by photographing street signs at each crossing that I was required to make.

💃 MINERVA ART ACADEMY (2015-2017) 

After living in Berlin for a year, I decided not to return to my studies in Estonia but instead to move to the Netherlands to continue my fine arts studies at the Minerva Art Academy in the Netherlands.
During that period, my artistic focus was on conceptual experimentation, elements of humor, and exploring personal discomforts through performance art, as I made works, such as:
"Home Shadow," an installation in which I traced my shadow on the floor and filled it with three types of crumbled bread symbolizing Estonian, German, and Dutch cultural influences.
"Face It," a conceptual painting in which I painted three of my exes and showcased the work against the wall so the content was barely visible to depict the pain of facing the hurt from the breakup.
"Rebirth of Pickle," a video installation in which I performed as three stereotypical artists who discussed the best way to depict a jar of pickles.
"Plant," a performance in which I stood on a reception table dressed as a plant for 2 hours.
"Velas-Quiz," a game show format to reflect on the art world.
(And many more performances...)
In 2016, I also participated in an intensive performance workshop by Johannes Deimling at his PAS program in Bratislava, which was crucial for my performative development.
Unfortunately, due to battling severe depression, at the beginning of 2017, I was internally forced to pause my art studies.

👩‍💻 MINERVA ART ACADEMY (2018) 

As I returned to Minerva Art Academy, my artistic focus was on the reflection of pop cultural phenomena and power dynamics of aesthetics, as I was playfully combining high and low culture elements within my work, such as:
"Unicorn Shoes," "Trusting the Crystals," "Back to Dating Pool," and "Painting is so Beautiful," which were music videos expressing personal frustration through humour.
"The Carrot Ride," "The Sleeping Sushi," and "The Crossing Zebra," which were performative videos inspired by the YouTube tutorial format and presented as "serious" DVDs to ridicule the superficiality of social media.
"The Bag," "The Mouth," and "The Smoothie," which were conceptual art books filled with associative streams of consciousness to ironize the hierarchical superiority of the book format.
During this period, I used the term 'fictional science' to describe my work, and I created several absurd concepts for books, such as:
"Photographic Behavior in Restaurants," in which, by collecting photos from Google restaurant reviews, I made up psychological theories about the relationship between the person being photographed and the person who took the photograph.
"Society of Sheep," in which I combined photos of sheep with strange associations and absurd theories related to painting.
"The Doppelgänger Theory," in which I generated a fictional narrative to reflect on my cultural identity by conducting absurd tests with two artists, one from Estonia and one from the Netherlands.
"Essays on Psychopaths," in which I transcribed the dramatic "story-time" YouTube videos, in which an ex-boyfriend or other unlikable person was claimed to be a psychopath, and then, by using Dr. Hare's psychopathy checklist, I analyzed the accuracy of these statements. The work was a critical remark on the cultural prevalence of inappropriate usage of mental health diagnoses.
In 2018, one of my biggest dreams came true, as I was accepted to study at Hunter College in New York for a semester as an exchange student, but unfortunately, due to financial stress and a relapse of my mental health, I had to make the most heartbreaking decision of my life by turning down this opportunity and pausing my studies... 

📚 STUDY BREAK (2019-2022) 

This was the darkest period of my life, as it took me nearly three years to access the proper help for my mental health. I spent this period of my life unemployed, isolated, and mourning my failed art career, as I was living in a small village with my Dutch husband, whom I had married in 2017.
During this period, I worked on a book called "Lexicon of Depression," which depicts depression through symbolic associations of everyday objects, such as window blinds, a wig, or a clogged-up toilet.
In 2019, I made a mockumentary called "Technology," which was shown during the DIHAN performance art event at Antiquariat Berger & De Vries in Groningen.
In 2020, as part of an online feedback group, I made a new music video called "Reality," which reflected on fluctuating emotional states of struggling with mental health.
In 2022, I made two videos for YouTube, including:
"On Depression," in which I interviewed myself about the book that I was working on, reflected on the importance that my grandfather played in my life, and created a visual essay depicting depression.
"On Performance Art," in which I gave a lecture about performance art in my bathroom, made a tutorial for performance art, and reflected on previously made performative works.
During this time, I still developed some new ideas for "fictional science," such as a book concept analyzing reality TV "Bachelor in Paradise" through psychological concepts or conducting anthropological stereotyping on the shopping lists that I found on the street. However, I also developed an interest in more proper research and throughout the years I read hundreds of books on diverse topics, such as media, sociology, psychology, spirituality, and feminism.
In 2020, I gave birth to my daughter, and by delving into several child development theories, such as sensory play, Montessori education, and other child-led philosophies, I gained crucial insights for developing concepts about mental health and my criticism towards art education, which are central themes in my current art practice.

🔥 MINERVA ART ACADEMY (2022-2025) 

As I was returning to Minerva Art Academy, my artistic focus was on storytelling, exploring my own positionality, and exploring new dimensions of performing, as I infiltrated into the stand-up comedy and storytelling scene.
Since 2023, I started documenting and sharing my artistic process through Instagram, which for me was definitely an important milestone to take my work out of the "safety" of the regular art world.
In the beginning of 2023, I got divorced, which also influenced my artistic practice, as I started working on projects such as the comedy show "Maneater," the music album "Divorce is the Deepest Form of Love," and the dating show "Divorced and Desperate." And since 2023, I have been passionate about curing the art education as well.
In April 2023, I joined HUL art studio (a shared space with another 11 artists), which offered me a lot of artistic safety and the opportunity to explore self-initiated projects, such as hosting "secret society" meetings, filming a poetry reading, or interviewing artists.
During this period, I also engaged in several artistic projects, such as collaborating with The Arcade Collective for a performance event at WEP, a musical collaboration with Can Demren for a performance at DIHAN, a performative collaboration with Nicole Kuiper at WEP, and a 24-hour art residency with Fitjenzia Ulrich at SYB.
Unfortunately, despite actively pursuing my diverse artistic ambitions, I was not able to translate them into an academic context and experienced yet another study delay.
Whether I manage to graduate in the summer of 2025 is still uncertain, but regardless I do believe that over the years I have developed a unique artistic practice, and I am wholeheartedly committed to keep floating through life like a "seed of dandelion" and to fiercely believe in my own ability to mystically carve out a unique path for my existence and land on fertile soil for my creativity. 🌻

Despite my underprivileged background, I have dedicated my entire life to art in the hope of becoming a full-time artist.*

Due to my unconventional art practice, I have struggled to obtain credentials, visibility, and funding for my work and am currently living in consistent financial scarcity, balancing my artistic ambitions with motherhood obligations, mental health struggles, and minimum-wage jobs.

If you have any resources, such as the authority to promote my work, a potential job offer (related to education, social media, or mental health), opportunity for visibility, financial support for a specific project, or a donation of your expertise, email: [email protected] 💌

(🦄*writer-performer-researcher)