Annika Aedma and Evelin Vassar are puppet makers of the Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences whose daily job is creating puppets for theatrical productions. Evelin Vassar graduated from Viljandi Culture College as theatrical production manager and began work in the then Puppet Theatre in 2002. Annika Aedma graduated from the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy as prop and set maker in the field of visual technology and began work in the NUKU Theatre in 2012.
Silent Encounters exhibits art dolls created by Annika Aedma and Evelin Vassar, which, unlike puppets, are decorative and not meant for playing. Art dolls are comprehensive artworks that are viewed up close; the choice of material, attention to detail, and level of finishing are therefore particularly important.
Both artists created their first art dolls in the early 2010s. The exhibited works were created for various exhibition projects and have been displayed in Estonia as well as abroad. The artists’ works clearly reveal their individual styles characterised by a distinctive use of colour, careful choice of materials and detail-oriented formal language.
In the window exhibition of the Museum of Puppetry Arts, the art dolls of Annika Aedma and Evelin Vassar meet for the first time in a joint exhibition, creating a comprehensive overview of their work. Through the window, a silent encounter takes place between the artists’ work and passers-by in the street.