Untitled (Main Hall)

Paul Kuimet often complements his photographic works with elements of installation that mostly mimic the architectural-geometric forms seen on the surface of a photograph. For example, in his 2016 work Figure-Ground Study, two photographs displayed in a light box are complemented by a structure with two arched doorways in the exhibition space, creating the impression that the viewer is standing under the arcade of Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana through the reflection on the glass façade of the photographs.

This time, Kuimet’s installation directly relates to an important architectural element of Tallinn Art Hall, the skylight of the Main Hall. Daylight falling from above highlights the photos on the walls of Kuimet’s installation. When moving in the Main Hall, it feels like we are in a light box. This feeling is also reinforced by the exposed wall structures.

The photographs inside the installation were taken in different botanical gardens of the world. Joseph Paxton, the architect of London’s Crystal Palace, was known in the United Kingdom as a botanist and engineer/architect for many greenhouses. The English word “exhibit” in its modern meaning only came into use after the first World’s Fair held in the Crystal Palace in 1851. Thus, the Crystal Palace was both a prototype for more recent office buildings and shopping centres and that of modern exhibition buildings, which have often used diffused natural light falling from large skylights to illuminate the works of art.