“Castle in the Air” is an exhibition spanning all floors of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, offering an overview of more than twenty years of jewellery creation by the Estonian jewellery artists’ collective õhuLoss. The group’s members – Piret Hirv, Kristiina Laurits, Eve Margus, Villu Plink, and Tanel Veenre – were students of the collective’s initiator, jewellery artist, head of the jewellery and blacksmithing department at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Professor Kadri Mälk (1958–2023).

“For me, Castle in the Air is an idealistic phenomenon of pure gold standard –  a dream that gives birth to history. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve seen castles in the air in real life; what matters is that you’ve built them yourself. It both enchants and binds, and over time, it becomes an addiction,”
–  said Kristiina Laurits, member of the collective.

The members of the group are connected by a shared worldview and understanding of their discipline –  a kinship of spirit that has formed the basis for long-term collaboration, recognized and appreciated both locally and internationally. Their curiosity and courage to experiment with diverse ideas, materials, methods, techniques, and tools have evolved into a form of self-expression that, often subtly or indirectly, addresses questions related to human existence in its broadest sense. The focus of õhuLoss lies on the jewel as an idea, a dream skillfully shaped from meaningful materials.

In a symbolic way, this õhuLoss exhibition –  serving as an introduction to the extensive retrospective of their late member Kadri Mälk –  turns visitors’ attention to the present, where former students have become artists, entrepreneurs, and educators who contribute to the development of contemporary jewellery in the most multifaceted ways.

The õhuLoss jewellery collective began exhibiting together in 1999. Over its 26 years of activity, the group has presented nearly 30 exhibitions and events in Estonia, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Hungary, China, France, Israel, Italy, and Latvia, and has published several books and catalogues of its work. In 2024, the collective was awarded the Annual Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s Visual and Applied Arts Endowment.

Exhibition design: õhuLoss
Graphic design: Aadam Kaarma