Estonian boy, Estonian girl in Kunstikeskus.ee
2005-06-30
“Estonian boy. Estonian girl” is an united project of me and Maarit. Our models are strangers from the street – Maarit photographed boys, I girls. And then we painted life size portraits based on the photos. People on the photos and later on the paintings are there unknowingly. Maybe later someone has recognised themselves or their friends (I personally know one).
(Tõnis Saadoja)
The series is coldly documental. Girls were photographed by Tõnis and boys by me, as the opposite sex is observing the opposite sex who are approximately in the same age range as we ourselves are. When observing the boys and choosing them for my paintings I did not only choose my own personal taste – everything was determined by the early morning, where there weren’t so very many young guys walking around. And the second important criteria was colour. As the photographed were young – so to say the trend setters – then when choosing the colours I also followed the colour trends of the moment. All colours have been fashionably mixed with black. Hereby I would like to draw your attention to the time of creating the painting (2003, presentation in gallery Vaal), as you know trend changes quite quickly. Why boys in negative? No, this is not a negative attitude towards men. Here I considered the wholesomeness of the exhibition, that 2 different sexes could be nicely distinguished, as they really are different.
(Maarit Murka)
By style they could be classified as hyperrealists, but the 21st century has brought so much new to it that it would be better to erase the old hyper realistic view of paintings from our heads. Murka and Saadoja are in the new generation of photorealism and when reproducing the photos one is stuck in today’s details and attitudes. […] Bright report on boys and girls can be described as glamorous and it has skilfully formed into the language of paintings. Inseparable part of the elegant scenario is the black and white painting technique, that only single freak painters know how to appreciate.
(Eha Komissarov)