In the second half of the 1960s, a remarkable number of women artists emerged who regenerated graphic art in the late-Soviet period in various ways.

The exhibition "Through the Black Gorge of Your Eyes" brings together works from the 1960s–1980s by Concordia Klar, Silvi Liiva, Marju Mutsu, Naima Neidre, Kaisa Puustak, Marje Taska, Vive Tolli, Aili Vint, Mare Vint and Marje Üksine.

The exhibition's name is derived from a poem by Concordia Klar. "When preparing for this exhibition, we looked through a great deal of poetry and multiple genres of literature; poetry and literature have been extremely influential for all of these authors. In addition to their original graphic design, Mutsu and Klar also illustrated many books and wrote poetry," Maria Arusoo, the exhibition's curator, explained on "Terevisoon."

Arusoo said that coming up with a title for the exhibition was a difficult task given the exhibition's complexity. According to the curator, Klar's poem encapsulates the exhibition's multifaceted and poetic nature.

The peculiarities of Soviet graphic art are evident in their work. Nevertheless, these works and the themes they explore seamlessly fit into the contemporary art landscape.

"As curators of this exhibition, we also rethought or reinterpreted these works that were created in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in a very different social context, in contemporary times," Arusoo said.

The exhibit is divided into various sections: the relationship between humans and nature, approaches to the body, social or personal roles, motherhood and ageing, encounters with heritage and folklore, the influence of human activity on the environment and its repercussions, etc. An important notion is the circle of friends, the curators said.

The contemporary performance artists Jette Loona Hermanis, Kaja Kann and Keithy Kuuspu have been invited to relate performatively to the works displayed.

A curator's tour in English will take place at the Kumu Museum on June 17. In the same evening, at 8 p.m. Keithy Kuuspu's performance "False falling" will take place in the museum's courtyard.

The curators of the exhibition are Maria Arusoo, Eha Komissarov and Eda Tuulberg. The design of the exhibition is created by Edith Karlson and Maria Luiga.

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