VIRGE LOOPORTFOLIOvirgeloo.tumblr.comloovirge@gmail.com

SAH SAH (2015)

Sah Sah explores ideas about our connectedness with environments by looking at sound as a phenomena that is able to shape our nature in a longer period of time. The title derives from an Estonian word “sahin” which describes the sound of rustling tree leaves. This inspiring natural phenomena is the core of a personal sound memory and is related to artist’s cultural background. This art project gives a peek into a Nordic mindset and investigates if a geocultural phenomena could be universally perceived. An interwoven set of works were created by visualising the characteristics of sound in a still image and using these painted images to set the sound in motion again – thus creating a circle of transitions. Sah Sah consists of ink paintings, video and sound. The sound was designed by Sander Saarmets.

Sah Sah consists of series of seven large scale (95x180cm) and 45 smaller (30x20cm) ink paintings. Sah Sah video (10:10) was made in collaboration with Sander Saarmets. Video: youtu.be/_ctjiDVyq84

Works shown at solo exhibition SAH SAH 8/05 – 12/05/2015thesahsahs.tumblr.com

WORK IN PROGRESS (2015)

Work in Progress focused on my creative process. By mapping various elements and activities involved in creating a finalised artwork, the audience got a glimpse into artist’s creative process. The visually organised “mind map” on a blackboard was a temporary and developing (representation of) work in progress. The exhibition space was set up like a studio, with tools and objects, unfinished potential artworks and leftovers. During the exhibition time I engaged in creative work on site, so that the staged setting became a real studio. The audience saw behind the scenes of my daily life and artistic practices. A special installation online blog was a part of the work and recorded my activities during the exhibition.

Daily Drawings As a part of Work in Progress I started a series of drawings on a blackboard which developed and changed over time. It was unplanned, spontaneous and constantly changing as I wiped off previous drawings, but kept some of their traces.

Sah Sah BooksDuring the exhibition time I made several artist books by using the paintings that hadn’t been mounted and were left out from my solo exhibition Sah Sah. I see these books as more tangible and physical satellites to other paintings in Sah Sah series. The form of a book as an object engages the viewer to interact and read it as each has accustomed to thus making the interpretation more intimate. Sah Sah books were made of original paintings bound into one of a kind books in three sizes - small (15x13cm, 25 pages), medium (30x20cm, 30 pages) and slightly bigger (33x33cm, 12 pages).

Installation was part of group exhibition Floating on Border 12/9 - 4/10/2015 a-w-i-p.tumblr.com

TWATUTIA (2016)

Twatutia drawings focus on brief encounters with environments trying to capture the here and now by recording it visually. The series continues to explore environments and their influence, expanding the theme with Taipei’s urban space. The series of drawings based on locations in Dadaocheng area focus on immediate encounters with environments including its sounds, scents and light. Not being concerned with depicting reality, but capturing an impression through direct experience, leads to a more intuitive expression.

These mindscapes form a visual map of personal environmental experiences from April to May in nine different locations. Each of twenty is named with date, time and exact location where it was drawn by using ink pen, watercolour pencil, rain and sun.

Artist Talk & Drawing WorkshopA talk was held to give some insight about my works and methods, followed by a drawing workshop. The aim of the workshop was to learn to free oneself from one’s thoughts, to draw without thinking of depicting and to sense the surroundings instead. As in automatic drawing where the hand is allowed to move randomly across the paper, applying chance and accidental mark-making, participants tried to draw freely without rational control and make use of their sensory experiences.

Works shown at solo exhibition HERE/THERE 04/06 – 31/07/2016 heretheres.tumblr.com

V4R1 (2016)

V4R1 is a Taipei-born audiovisual entity created by two Northerners – Sander Saarmets, composer and Virge Loo, visual artist. V4R1 observes and explores layers and textures in time and space. V4R1 can be simultaneously minimalistic and massive, slow and intense. Boreal sound structures interlace with visual landscapes, creating an other-worldly atmosphere. Intensified electronic heartbeats guide listeners through an environment of microscopic and large-scale transformations.

V4R1 is currently in process of making its audiovisual debut album.

Audiovisual performances:18/06/2016 Kumu ÖÖ / Kumu Night, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia30/01/2016 V4R1 - First Sighting, Underon, Taipei, Taiwan

Video: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHTwxOdl_T4dKJOhd68OWcjGy2TqHXKnT

v4r1.tumblr.com

VIRGE LOO (b. 1984, Estonia)http://virgeloo.tumblr.com

EDUCATION2013 – 2015 Taipei National University of the Arts, Department of Fine Art, MFA2007 – 2011 University of Tartu, MA in Theology (Religious Anthropology) cum laude2003 – 2006 Estonian Academy of Arts, Design Department, BA in Textile

SOLO EXHIBITIONS2016/06 V4R1, Kumu ÖÖ / Kumu Night, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia2016/06 HERE/THERE, URS329 X Underon, Taipei, Taiwan2016/01 V4R1 - FIRST SIGHTING with Sander Saarmets, Underon, Taipei, Taiwan2015/11 KASEKE, Canopy, Taipei, Taiwan2015/05 SAH SAH, S6 Gallery at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei, Taiwan2009/12 LU WEI FROM CHINA, Y – Gallery, Tartu, Estonia

GROUP EXHIBITIONS2015/09 FLOATING ON BORDER, Tamsui Art Gallery, Tamsui, Taiwan2015/07 LIFESTYLE GURU HAUNTED BY ANXIETY, 2015 Graduation Exhibition of M.F.A. Program, TNUA Underground Museum, Taipei, Taiwan2015/04 THE 2015 CHINESE INK & WASH PAINTING EXHIBITION BY COLLEGES OF ART EDUCATION IN TAIWAN, National Taiwan Arts Education Center, Taipei, Taiwan2013/09 CLAM, TNUA Underground Museum, Taipei, Taiwan2011/02 ORDINARY, Kunstihoone Gallery, Estonia2010/10 POCKET LUCK, Studio Tommaseo Trieste Gallery, Italy2009/07 PAPERDOLLS, Gdynia Design Days, Poland2009/05 MANU PROPRIA, International Drawing Triennial, Estonia2009/02 PAPERDOLLS, Hop Gallery, Estonia2008/05 SSSPRINT -Patterns of City, ERKI Fashion Show, Estonia2008/05 PAPERDOLLS 2D, 20den Leipzig Fashion Festival, Germany2008/03 COCK & COOKIES, Hobusepea Gallery, Estonia2008/02 OMEN, Hobusepea Gallery, Estonia2007/05 HARAKASHARAKAS, Project: Fashion - Performance - Dance “End of the World”, Estonia2007/03 TEXTILE DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 2006, Young Textile Designer of The Year - Disainkombain Group, Hop Gallery, Estonia2006/12 LESSON 1, Disainkombain, Haapsalu Linnagalerii, Estonia2006/08 KULTUURITEHASE FESTIVAL 2006, Polümer, Estonia2006/06 THE GRADUATE SHOW OF ESTONIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS DESIGN DEPARTMENT, Design and Architecture Gallery, Estonia