Weak Monument : Architectures Beyond the Plinth : Exhibition : Estonian Pavilion, 16th Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy 26.05. - 25.11.2018

Résumé

Monuments represent power: explicitly and simply, but not universally. In Estonia, the classical notion of a monument is a strange appearance. Its presence is marginal, its tradition nonexistent and its form tormented by an apparent cultural displacement. The statue on a square never claimed the central position so common in Western Europe. This semantic void directs attention to other, less exceptional pieces of architecture. Sometimes a stairway marks a politically charged location, or a pavement becomes symbolic. Instead of explicit meanings inscribed in marble and bronze, an implicit charge is revealed that might be weaker yet more relevant, for it cannot be openly questioned what is only implicit.'Weak Monument' explores the blurred line between a monument’s explicitly political form and the architecture of everyday. It juxtaposes classical monuments with seemingly insignificant architectural objects and public space in a collection of images and drawings, archival as well as newly commissioned ones, alongside essays and brief texts.
Publié à l'occasion de l'exposition présentée au Pavillon estonien lors de la 16e Exposition internationale d'architecture de Venise, du 26 mai au 25 novembre 2018. - Texte en anglais traduit en estonien. - Titre établi à partir de la couv.