Laura Põld

The works of Laura Põld (*1984 Tallinn, lives in Vienna and Tallinn) address the subjective perception of territory. She links the history of a place with the materiality of her own works. From all the conceptual diversity of types of dwelling — from house, to accommodation, to estate, to a place to stay, a shelter, a refuge, or a home — and all the appertaining associations, Põld takes a special interest in the bird’s nest. Fascinated by how expertly birds make their nests, in Burrows, I (Cliff Swallow) (2019) and Burrows, II (Cliff Swallow) (2019) she created two works that each require two good hands building with clay and ceramics. The ceramics are based on the nests made by the American cliff swallows in the works’ titles, which construct their nests in the hardened mud of overhanging cliffs. The Estonian artist here refers to themes that matter to her: the relationship between humans and animals and the protection of the diversity of species and natural environments. The objects hanging from the ceiling evoke comparison with stalactites, dripstones on the rooves of caves, finding their habitat in hollow forms and entirely or partly encased in stone over thousands of years in natural processes. The asymmetries of nature find their counterpart here in the objects that Põld makes by hand, which illustrate the diversity inherent to the concepts of living and home, and also show the great wealth of different forms.