Kristina Õllek (EE, b. 1989) is a visual artist based in Tallinn, Estonia. She works with photography, video and installation, focusing on representational processes, geological matter, aquatic ecosystems, and the human-made environment. In her practice, she uses a research-based approach, but within she also incorporates her own fictitious and speculative perspectives. With her work, she raises questions around the relationship between natural and synthetic, original and copy, and understandings of materiality by obtaining a new and reconsidered meaning.
Õllek holds both MA and BA degrees from the Estonian Academy of Arts, whilst she has also studied at Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, and Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee. She has received the Estonian Academy of Arts – Young Artist Prize in 2013 and 2016. In 2019 Õllek was the recipient of the Artproof Production Grant. Her works belong to several collections (e.g Estonian Art Museum, Estonia; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; European Central Bank art collection, Germany; private collections).
Kristina Õllek’s works skillfully blend ecological concerns with a critical exploration of humanity’s impact on the sea, addressing issues like changing marine ecology, fertilizer runoff and pollution. Her series uncovers the consequences of these activities, turning cyanobacteria, the vital organisms of the ecology and oxygen cycle, into agents of toxicity, resulting in hypoxic zones and loss of biodiversity. Through mirroring humanity’s desires and fears, the sea becomes a reflective surface portraying both a deep past and a perilous future shaped by ruthless capitalism.
Õllek’s works reveal the deep time embedded in the Baltic Sea’s geology, narrated by fossilised remnants and cyanobacteria. The series connects different geological periods, encouraging viewers to contemplate the past while addressing ecological issues. The presentation includes salt-based artworks that comment on the hypoxic dead zones, and bigger photographic pieces with clay that evoke the Silurian-era seafloor, as well as works depicting extinct life forms from that period.
Artist is presented by Tütar Gallery
