Luke Jaaniste
The phrase 'city living' is often used to describe the epitome of a carefree contemporary lifestyle. Real estate agents and marketing gurus would have us believe that inner urban dwellers live the high life full of all the fringe benefits and fewer worries. In contrast, Luke Jaaniste's recent exhibition 'City Living' featured works made from humble materials (such as sticky tape and Lego) that followed set rules and regulations in terms of installation, size, colour and quantity. The show appeared to critique both the speed of present-day life where everyday aesthetic experiences are overlooked, and Western society's preoccupation with material items. The majority of work was located outside of the main gallery space, and spread over five levels as well as out into the city streets and retail shop displays, so that visitors were required to follow an adventure trail in search of artworks that often eluded a casual glance.
Jaaniste's practice is characterised by a process of reinvigorating spaces in order to draw attention to what are often disregarded as inconsequential architectural features. He employs materials found in situ or bought from stationery supply stores according to a system of rules informed by the materials themselves and aspects of a site. For example, the colour Lego used is determined by the colour of its surrounds, and the number of Lego blocks might correlate to the building level on which they are situated. While this sounds like an attempt by the artist to remove arbitrary decisions from the artistic process, on the contrary Jaaniste's artworks are manifestations of his subjective response to particular spaces. However, the artist's underlying guidelines are not always obvious to the visitor; indeed the works themselves