Artist Helena Keskküla wanted to work on stone as she tracked stone-related episodes in the text and illustrations of The Kalevide, and looked for connections between stone and Estonianness.
Stones have been called the bones of Earth; they can contain millions of years of compressed life. Stone is a hardy, dignified and awe-inspiring material, and this is why it is often used to mark and celebrate human lives that have reached their end. My interest in stone as a material started while I was a master’s student in Amsterdam. Looking back, part of the blame might lay with the coronavirus pandemic and the escalation of the war in Ukraine. At the time, I felt homesick, had a desire to understand my roots, and suffered from a terrible screen fatigue.
I read about Estonian mythology while I was writing my thesis and tracked stone-related episodes in the text and illustrations of The Kalevide. I compared how different artists had illustrated these episodes and looked for connections between stone and Estonianness. All of it fuelled my desire to pursue stonemasonry, but finding an instructor proved unexpectedly difficult.
I wrote down my journey towards finding an instructor in the form of short and humorous episodes, which were the basis of the 2021 performance ‘Moss Doesn’t Grow…’.
Playing a character named Linda, I told the tale of a setback-laden pursuit to become a stonemason.
Three Estonian children—Alide, Mila and Lumi—also participated in the performance, playing a meme-inspired ‘oof’-choir. The stone children squeaked ‘oof’ every time something went awry in my story and my efforts, sang along a Seto stone milling song with me, and shouted stone-related proverbs.
HELENA KESKKÜLA is an Amsterdam-based Estonian artist whose work has lately been exploring mythology and stone as a material.
PUBLISHED: MAJA 1-2024 (115) with main topic STONE
