French architect Marc Leschelier created Black Mortar as one of 10 artists participating in the 7th Artishok Biennial in Tallinn. Presented at the EKKM, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Estonia, the project is part of the COPY theme where each artwork premiered at a specifically-chosen location in Tallinn. Curated by Laura Linsi and Roland Reemaa, the biennial included a range of work in addition to the indoor pavilion that explored imitation, simulation and copying.
As the curators outline, "COPY muses about and tests the concept of working with something which does not belong to us in the context where nothing really belongs to anyone anyway and everything has already been done before, many times. Yet every moment can, in some way, be novel and singular, can be made anew." The curators introduced a spatial dimension to the matrix of the biennial. Each of the new artworks was presented in a specific place, form and context at a one-night-only event during a 10-day marathon of premieres.
Artishok Biennial has taken place since 2008. It is defined by an experimental exhibition format which connects art writers and artists on a shared platform and challenges their relationship during the working process. Artishok is an independent and informal collective, where the biennials’ previous curators select their successors for the following edition.
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tallinn Cultural Department, Institut Francaise, and the Estonian Association of Architects.
