Kati Kerstna VALUES 1 & 2 
1.07 – 26.07.2022

Kati Kerstna is an artist who mainly works in the media of glass, light and graphic design. She represents the voice of enviromentalism in her artistic practice. In order to forward her ideas and messages, Kerstna combines various materials and media. During the recent years, the artist has been focusing on the themes of environmental pollution, global warming, deforestation etc.
With her present exposition, Kati Kerstna raises the following questions: What is really valuable? What are real values? The possible answer would be an imaginary vision addressing the future without evaluating a specific phenomenon or object.
How valuable, diverse or poor would the world or a specific environment be if …. would be missing? Or if there would be more ….? Would it be possible to exist at all?
The artist states that in order to enrich the concept of diversity one could automatically interpret this as a diversity of species and life, intelligence and emotion. Instead of a heap of material things.
VALUES 1 is about bees – it might already sound as a cliché and we all have heard it for too many times – but without bees life would not be possible on this planet. And staying alive depends on the diversity of species.
VALUES 2 presents the plants of the famous square metre of Laelatu wooded meadow, Estonia. In 2001, 76 different plant species were listed there, that making the exact spot the second leading square metres in the world famous for its diversity of species (the first place goes to a square metre located in the mountains of Argentina with its 89 different species). The plant species in the whole Lealatu wooden meadow is reputedly the most diverse plant community in both Estonia and the whole Northern Europe.
Kati Kerstna has used glass as material both from recycled sources as well as from her previous artworks. She mostly expresses herself through kinetic installations where glass has been combined with other materials, electronics and light. Involvement of light is an important part in forming a whole – concerning both single installations as well as light design at various exhibitions.
Kati Kerstna (b. 1970) has graduated from the department of glass art at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Since 1995, she has participated in exhibitions in various galleries and museums both in Estonia and abroad. Kerstna has also curated several extensive exhibitions (both domestic and international) in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Germany and Russia.
Thank you: Toomas Kukk (magazine Eesti Loodus), Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Erki Kannus (EKDesign)
Exhibitions in HOP gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.