Uku Sepsivart x Järvselja Training and Experimentation Museum

Uku Sepsivarts x Järvselja Training and Experimentation Museum26.04–07.09.2024

Tue, Wed, Thu 10:00-17:00 and Sat 12:00–18:00

“It was a hard-working practical training that lasted three weeks. The weather was beautiful, with liverworts, anemones, lilies of the valley and many other wild flowers in bloom, birds singing, cuckoos cuckooing and grouse cooing in the morning: it was so beautiful that thinking back on it you could cry!”

Ülo Erik’s memories of his 1947 botany practical training, from the book Järvselja Time and People (2022)

Järvselja is the story of legendary foresters and professors, of students whose pranks are balanced by their eagerness to acquire knowledge, and of course the stories of the forests and those who live in them. There are many places of interest here, such as hiking trails, the primeval forest, arboreturns, a plant garden and a rich history, but it is difficult for first-time visitors to find their way around it all and to get a good overview of the Järvselja phenomenon, which is covered by numerous publications. This is why the Järvselja Training and Experimentation Museum has been temporarily set up: it peels away the various layers, and exhibits the “experimental sculptures” of the artist Uku Sepsivart.

“Experimental sculptures” are ideas and experiments that the artist came up with during his residency in Järvselja in 2023, while wandering around the forest districts, studying history, interacting with people and observing everyday life. The time spent in the study forest district and the activities there inspired him to experiment with different natural materials. In the artist’s interpretation, the history of Järvselja takes on more tangible dimensions, but the museum room is not the full story: when you are in Järvselja, you still have to go to the forest, and the sculptures created by the artist guide you. Three sculptures on Järvselja’s hiking trails will take final shape over the summer, with the cooperation of local residents: not people, but the local animals and the birds.

Compilers of the Jarvselja Training and Experimentation
Museum exhibition: Maarin Ektermann and Mary-Ann Talvistu
Exhibition design and installation: Mari Möldre and Margus Tammik
Translation: Peeter Talvistu
Language editing: Richard Adang
Graphic design and drawings: Agnes Isabelle Veevo
Communication: Mailis Timmi

Thank you: Tanel Piir, Ene Runtel, Kaie Ein, Mats Varik, Heino Kasesalu, Ivar Sibul, Aare Tuul and the Estonian Forestry Students’ Association, Kristjan Ait, Hanna Piksarv ja Albert Sepsivart

Supporters: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Järvselja Training and Experimental Forestry District

UKU SEPSIVART (b 1988) holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree (2015) from the Sculpture Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts. During his studies, he supplemented his skills in Finland, completing internships in the studios of Villu Jaanisoo and Antti Laitinen, and undertook exchange studies at the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts, as well as an internship in Wuzhen, China. In 2012, Sepsivart was awarded the Young Artist Prize by the NGO Noor Kunst and the Estonian Academy of Arts. Recently, Sepsivart has been reflecting on his art practice by comparing it to natural processes and seeking ways to create together with nature. As of 2023, Sepsivart is also one of the recipients of the Artist's Salary.

The JÄRVSELJA TRAINING AND EXPERIMENTAL FORESTRY DISTRICT was established in 1921, but as early as the 19th century, under the leadership of the progressive Kastre landowner Nikolai von Essen, forestry was developed here. Thus one can say that Järvselja is the home of Estonian foresters, where for over 100 years people have been taught how to research, protect and manage forests responsibly. The diversity of the landscape, with its massive forests, swamps and swamp islands, bogs and lakes, has provided countless opportunities for learning on more than 10,000 hectares, and this is also home to Estonia’s oldest forest protection area: the Järvselja primeval forest, which will celebrate its centenary in 2024.

Opening event 25.04.2024 (photographer Jürgen Vainola):