Considering the recent passing of our beloved Ülle Veltmann, sharing this previously unpublished photography project now, which portrays the dishes made by her, is more than suitable.
(NB! The titles of the photos are provided in Estonian to preserve their original meaning.)
One of the most fascinating aspects of photography is that one can shoot something completely average, but through time and the way we perceive what has been captured, the end product can be surprisingly different and not so average at all. Combining photographs with a narrative in an exhibition can change how a viewer understands the photos.
In Landscapes of Outer Space, I am showing my interpretations of outer space through food. I placed different Estonian dishes—mostly soups served in Estonian House Café, Toronto—onto glass plates and left the plates to dry for a week. The results were very outer space-like, as dried food particles composed interesting textures and patterns. Maybe I was able to capture Mars, Venus or Jupiter? Such transformation is possible only through the passing of time and we can’t perceive that while eating the dishes. We are also transforming through time.
The main idea of this project is to present the important part of a nation’s culture that food is, but in a completely different form than usual. The everyday dishes we are used to eating look very extraordinary. The other motivation behind the project is that the dishes used in these photographs were made by our beloved Ülle Veltmann. She is the sole reason that this project happened. She allowed me to use her prepared meals, to use the cafeteria to store the food-covered glass plates, and to use it as a studio for photography later. Though I took these photos ten years ago, the dark overall look of the photos describes my current feelings about Ülle's passing.
If there are kind people who would love to fund the printing of this exhibition, then please do so by sending an e-transfer to my email kerly (at) kerlyilves.com , using the secret word ylle. Or if you would like to obtain any of these photos as prints, then please contact me as well.
It would be amazing to showcase this exhibition in Toronto, so that people can learn more about Estonian food, Ülle Veltmann's work and the now-gone Toronto Estonian House. I would also love to ship this exhibition to Estonia, so people there could have the chance to do the same. This would be my contribution to preserving the legacy of local Estonians and Ülle.
Updates will be shared as available.
You can find my farewell and a small photo gallery of Ülle here.
