Where to hide from the darkness and cold caused by the damp Baltic climate and the oppressive routine of everyday life accompanied by terrifying political events? Heading towards the central part of old Tallinn and walking along Harju tänav, I open the door of the Tallinn City Gallery. Here I hide in the coziness created by the drawings on the walls which resemble illustrations from a fairy tale, and the clay figures, which remind me of the warmth of children's art workshops. What a nice and safe space it is!

Looking closer at the exhibits and reading the accompanying texts, I understand that this is not a fairy tale at all, but a documentary story, very similar to an epic literary work by some great author of the 19th or 20th century. This great travelogue, which can rightfully be called a saga, describes one single family and shows the trajectory of its movement in space and time against the backdrop of world history. It contains joyful and tragic events, elements of crime and even magic realism. But who is the narrator of this documentary saga, and how did it come about?

This exhibition which is called "Memories from Altai Krai" was created by Liisa Kruusmägi, a freelance artist from Tallinn known in Estonia and abroad for her drawings, paintings, book illustrations and murals, in collaboration with curator Anneliis Lepp. The exhibition opened on January 26 in the Tallinn City Gallery and will stay open until March 31, 2024. This is a narrative exhibition revealing the story found in the diary of the artist's grandmother, Helena Kangropool. The exposition embraces the time period from 1896-97 to 1941, and covers many details of how the artist's ancestors, along with other families, left for Siberia in search of housing and land and founded the village in the middle of the steppes and mountains which they named Estonia.

The exposition resembles a graphic novel displayed on the walls of the gallery and complemented by flat clay objects hanging among the drawings and highlighting important details of the plot. In the central part of the exhibition space there is a table with a model of the village "Estonia" comprising clay sculptures of houses, people and animals, and everything that was in the village. The main road and the river are also sculpted from clay. The exhibition also features an old sepia wedding photograph of the artist's paternal great grandmother, Anete.

I caught up with Liisa Kruusmägi to learn more about her creative life in general, and in particular to find out how the idea of the exhibition originated, how it came to life, and what the artist thinks of the connection between the story told by her grandmother and today's reality. We started the conversation from afar.

When did you decide to become an artist and why? Why did you choose to be an illustrator?

It came naturally as I grew up in an artistic family. I had all the materials to try out and as I wasn't a very smart kid, doing art was the only thing that I was good at and really enjoyed. Drawing is the medium by which I can express my thoughts and feelings and I'm happy that I can earn money by illustrating.

You have a very recognizable style. What do you call this style and why have you chosen it? Have you ever worked in other styles?

It's not my thing to name my style, I think. It just naturally developed like that. I think the biggest influence was definitely from studying in the United States, and I think my travelling has changed it as well. However, I feel like I have always been working in the same style.

Your exhibition Memories from Altai Krai includes ceramics. Is it the first time that you have worked with clay? Are you planning to work with clay in the future?

No, it's not the first time. I have done it before. I would like to do more and bigger in size. I have lots of ideas. In the exhibition, the village model is a collaborative ceramic piece. It was really nice that my friends came to help me with it.

What gave you the idea to create this exhibition? What inspired you? What was your aim?

Two years ago, me and my friend Anneliis, who is the curator of the exhibition, were in Vilnius and I told her that a long time ago I had wanted to make a graphic novel based on the story told by my father, about his childhood in Estonia village in Siberia, and his journey back to Tallinn. And then I told her also about some other stories that my father remembered from that time. Anneliis got so excited about the topic that she suggested making an exhibition about it. 

What is the role of your curator Anneliis Lepp in this project? How long have you been collaborating? Is she your regular curator? 

It's the first time that she has worked as a curator and I haven't done anything like this before. She is the heart of the exhibition, she came up with the concept of the exhibition, systematized all materials and put all the texts together. She created the whole framework.

Where is your grandmother's diary now? Do you have any other archives from your ancestors? Are you going to create other works related to the archives?

My grandmother wrote it when she was already pretty old. She shared mostly how her mother started the journey to Siberia, who they travelled with, how it all went on and how they lived in different places.  Lots of information. But not so much about her life when she was older and nothing about how they went back. The only stuff that survived is the diary and a few photos. There're also some memories of my father.  Now it's me who is the owner of the diary, I'm really happy that it exists. Since the drawings have already been made, it would be nice to create a small book with them, but otherwise I have no further plans in this regard.

The story finishes with the episode when in 1941 your father's grandmother died and he remembers how she was stroking his head before dying. What happened after that?

After World War II, in 1945, my grandmother, my father and uncle went to Tallinn. My father was nine years old.

According to what you've previously said, there was an idea to create some art based on the stories told by your father, Leonard Kruusmägi...

Yes, we wanted to reveal this story from my father's point of view, but there was not enough information for an exhibition based on what he told me. So, we took my grandmother's diary.

Can you share any episodes from what your father told you?

This is what he used to tell us. He was nine and his brother was five. And when they set off back to Tallinn, they took just some dried bread with them and a few belongings. He also remembered how he saw a big city for the first time. It was the city of Novosibirsk. And how they came back to Tallinn on a cattle train with cows. And what Tallinn looked like after the bombing.

Can you describe how your team worked on creating the model of the clay village?

In the evenings we would gather in my studio to build up the village. I asked my friends to help me because I needed more hands to do it. These nights were very nice. We were thinking about how things might have looked like, because almost no photos from the time remain. And I let my friends be creative to have a more fun outcome. Actually, the village model is based on the drawing that my grandmother drew. It's a one street village. There're houses, plots of land and the river. And animals.

Why do you think your family story is relevant today? In other words: why exactly would you personally recommend people to visit your exhibition?

Mostly when we talk about Siberia we remember the repressions, and it is associated with bad memories. But lots of Estonians went there at the end of the 19th century to get land allotments because of the land shortage in their home country. And almost nobody speaks about that. Besides, maybe it shows the fact that people in the past used to move around a lot, as they were looking for a better place to live. And also, the story told in this exhibition helps to compare life back then with life today.

Which event in the whole story is especially memorable for you?

There're so many different ones that it's hard to choose. Maybe I like the one with the snakes. Because it feels strange.

To convey the flavor of this story, and especially of this truly unusual episode that Liisa talks about, I decided to give a direct quote from the artist's grandmother. Helena Kangropool writes in her diary:

Once we were sitting on a high hill overlooking the main road during the Pentecost. Father played the zither, Vidrik played the accordion; my sister Juuli and I sang the songs we knew.

Below Russians had gathered on the road, listening. Suddenly Father said, "What a sight it is! Don't scream or run. Let's slowly walk down, playing and singing, to see if they will follow". When we looked back, we saw numerous snakes, wound in pairs, heads raised, listening.

So, we walked downhill, playing and singing, until the screams and noise started below. Then the snakes gradually disappeared. Russian grandmothers made a cross sign, marveling at the power and the beauty of Estonian music. There were many snakes in that area in general.

Does the village still exist? Does someone live there?

As I heard, the village still exists and people dwell in it, but how many of the Estonian people live there – who knows.

Have you been to Altai yourself?

No, I haven't, but I have always dreamed about it. I hope there will be a day when it will be possible to go there...

What feedback have you already heard from the people that have visited your exhibition?

There have been many very kind words, and people like to read the story and relate with it and compare it with today's reality.

Are you going to organize it again in some other city/country?

If some place would be interested, then yes, of course, I would be really happy to show it in some other exhibition spaces.

What would you wish to the readers of this interview?

It would be nice if somebody who hasn't seen the exhibition yet went there. I recommend reading all the guide texts as well to get the whole picture about the story. And thank you to everyone who has already been there and thanks for all your kind words.

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