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The birth of a painting: Artist Merike Estna on creating in public at the Venice Biennale

Estonia artist Merike Estna did something extremely unusual for the Venice Biennale, even by its own standards. Over the past five months, she created paintings live in front of daily visitors. The result is 22 canvases which explore the themes of motherhood and feminism.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/09/30/the-birth-of-a-painting-artist-merike-estna-on-creating-in-public-at-the-venice-biennale

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00:00You
00:30The pavilion shows three monumental works.
00:34The long bench that is 26 meters,
00:37then the floor where people walk on,
00:40which I think of kind of as a mind map for the project,
00:45and then the painting behind me,
00:48which I started with an empty canvas.
01:04This studio space, what she created,
01:07is really kind of like a living space.
01:09The painting has changed and then involved so much
01:13throughout those past five months,
01:15so it is a really kind of active and happy place, I would say.
01:22Many people who are living in Venice, they keep returning,
01:25and America is really kind almost always to talk to people,
01:30and people really want to kind of ask questions,
01:33reflect, talk, just sit around.
01:39They're definitely not intruders at the pavilion,
01:43and the main idea to show the painting how it is born,
01:49it only carries when people actually visit and see.
01:55And so this is an important part of the pavilion.
01:59And I was a little bit anxious before,
02:02but it's a big space,
02:05and I feel most of the time I feel really comfortable.
02:09I don't mind people in the space.
02:12I'm able to focus and do my thing.
02:16It reminds me of being back in the art academy,
02:20where you always share a studio,
02:23you put your headphones and you try to focus on your thing,
02:26while others maybe are chatting about whatever.
02:29So it's not like completely new, I think.
02:34and my time is very beautiful.
03:04We are very excited,
03:10It's never about only artists, the politics is always here and what comes to Estonia, I guess the kind of
03:16participation of Russia was the most, how to say, problematic and problematic thing.
03:26America said this really beautiful thing, beautiful and sad thing, that we were 60 years not part of this dialogue
03:33and not part of the biennial because of Russia, because we were occupied and we couldn't be part as independent
03:38countries, so we won't step back because they decided to join.
03:42So instead of we decided to stay, be here, use our voice and use our platform, use our pavilion as
03:49a platform.
03:58The protest against Russian pavilion was ending in front of our pavilion and actually at our opening.
04:10I also signed an open letter against the Israeli pavilion and I'm really grateful for my, to my country and
04:26to the CCA from Estonia who has been the commissioner and the producer of the pavilion
04:37who have given me every right to say what I think and, yes, for the freedom of speech.
04:57Venice is super beautiful and it's been an amazing experience and I think very useful experience for my children in
05:10the long run, but also it is a complicated city to live with,
05:15a family and to live with, uh, family and to live with small children, like, um, my older kid lost
05:21his scooter on the first morning of his arrival to the canal.
05:27Our youngest only learned to, to walk a couple of months ago, so it's been a challenge, but, um, also
05:38I really love challenges.
05:41I think it always, uh, gives us new ideas and drives us, leads us to different thoughts.
05:53Lots of thoughts.
05:54.
05:55.
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05:57You

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