On the Edge of Fading Voltage

In her solo exhibition, Liivrand presents her ongoing drawing series Crumbling Silhouettes, which in this new exhibition takes on a new headline Fading Voltage, alongside a new stained glass sculpture, Echo of Shards (2025). The worlds in her drawings evoke decaying ruins scattered with relics of the past, as well as imagined new Edens—lush with delicate flora and pearl-like strings of tadpoles, historically seen as mysterious and symbolic of transformation. In these fantastical scenes, flowers that typically bloom in different seasons appear all at once, echoing the medieval millefleur tapestries where such abundance symbolised paradise. Yet beneath their allure lies danger: the plants are highly toxic. In the latest works, Liivrand introduces two poisonous species found in Norway’s landscape—foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and hemlock (Conium maculatum). This botanical world is interwoven with iron elements shaped like arrows and vine tendrils, inspired by sacred architecture and cemetery fencing. Perched on these wrought iron forms are electrical poles with ceramic insulators, resembling delicate blossoms or clusters of berries. Engineered to endure extreme weather and high voltage—preventing flashovers and ensuring stable transmission—these structures evoke both the power of communication and the growing fragility of our ability to sustain it. The surreal landscapes are each framed by uniquely cut-out shapes, reminiscent of shadowy silhouettes, vignettes, or electrical cabinet doors concealing altered realities. They serve as a meditation on imagined futures and transitional states—shifting from a seemingly stable world into something that, though vaguely familiar, may no longer be ours. The free-standing stained glass sculpture extends this decadent terrain, framed by window-like elements inspired by early industrial and sacred architecture. It is soldered together from defective, faded glass sourced from former industrial sites—bearing traces of graffiti—and combined with antique fragments to form a ruin-like structure: a material echo of something broken down over time. Surrounding it are small objects evoking the remnants of a forgotten world: ceramic insulators, small bottles, and other human traces. These overlooked items become strange talismans that, like the landscape itself, have crumbled into ruins—quiet reminders of uncertainty, loss, and transformation. By constructing complex shadow worlds that embody both strength and fragility, Liivrand reflects on a reality that feels both safe and threatening. These visions haunt the present, prompting us to ask: What lingers in the shadows behind us? And what is the true nature of the new “paradise” unfolding before us? Anna Mari Liivrand (b. 1993, Keila, Estonia) is an Estonian artist living and working in Tallinn. Her formal education includes a Master’s degree from the Contemporary Art Department (2022) and a Bachelor's degree from the Sculpture and Installation Department (2016) at the Estonian Academy of Arts. She has also studied fine arts at the Iceland University of the Arts (2015). She received the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s annual award (2021), the Eduard Wiiralt Prize (2020), the Young Sculptor Prize (2014) and has been shortlisted for the Köler Prize (2025). Livrand’s recent exhibitions include Between Borders, Between Materials at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Tallinn, Estonia (2025); White Dwarfs and All Those Beautiful Nebulas at Kim. Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia (2024–25); Emotional Landscapes at Arka Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania; In the Shadows of Crumbling Silhouettes at Tütar Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia (2023); Still Lifes on National Motifs at Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Tallinn, Estonia; Prick of a Daisy at ARS Project Space, Tallinn, Estonia (2021); Artishok Biennale Copy at Kai Art Center and public space, Tallinn, Estonia (2020). Together with Kogo Gallery, she has represented her works at the Liste Art Fair Basel (2023), Esther, New York (2024) and Riga Contemporary (2025). Her works are part of the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and the private collections around Europe and the USA.