Kristina Õllek (1989) is a visual artist working in the field of photography, video and installation, with a focus on investigating contemporary visual culture and display; its materiality as well as the actual mode of mediation of the representation process. In her practice she frequently uses situations when fact and fiction, synthetic and natural, copies and the original intertwine, becoming a hybrid object/matter to obtain fresh meaning.
She’s interested in stretching the boundaries of what can we see and use from an image and space, especially now in the age of rapidly developing and highly manipulative technology. Within her recent projects she’s been more interested in the notion of new technologies and geological matter, the connectivity of the spatial and ecological circumstances, as well the components and resources that enable such technologies to create today’s environment.
Her work is often site-sensitive and analyses the location and the format of exhibition-making, questioning the display and the politics of installation from the perspective of a historical museum to an online space and future archeology.
Kristina Õllek graduated with a MA and BA degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts (Fine Arts, Photography), has studied at the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam (2016) and Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee (2012). She’s been the laureate of the Estonian Academy of Arts Young Artist Prize 2013 (BA) and 2016 (MA). Since 2013 she’s the co-founder and member of artist-run space Rundum. Her works have recently been shown in various international group and solo exhibitions in Estonia and abroad. Her works belong to several collections (e.g Estonian Art Museum, Estonia; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; European Central Bank art collection, Germany; private collections). She is one of the laureates for the Estonian state artist’s salary in 2023–2025.
