ΜΙΑ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΣΟΒΙΕΤΙΚΗ ΕΣΘΟΝΙΑ

NSFW. A CHAIRMAN’S TALE

Estonian pavillion at the 56th Venice Biennale

9 May – 22 November 2015

Museum of Occupations, Tallinn

15 April – 9 October 2016
The exhibition “Not Suitable For Work. A Chairman’s Tale” researches gay history in Estonia during the Soviet era. Depicted as a fragmented fictitious opera, the exhibition is a multimedia installation with videos and found objects displayed along-side archival materials.

The so-called “Chairman” was a kolkhoz chairman, a war veteran, and a family man, who lived in Soviet-era Estonia. In mid-1960s, the Chairman was expelled from the Communist Party due to his implication in a court case dealing with homosexual acts. Two years later, after a degrading process of investigation, he was sentenced to one-and-a-half years of hard labor. Following the loss of his social status, as well as his dignity, family, and job, the Chairman moved towns. As an ex-convict, he was only offered low-status jobs. However, the Chairman found recognition elsewhere, becoming notorious in the local gay community for his outrageous behaviour. In 1990, just a year before Estonia regained independence and homosexuality was decriminalized, the Chairman was murdered, allegedly by a soldier who also worked as a male prostitute.

Videos featured at the exhibition were made in collaboration with film-maker Marko Raat based on Chairman’s criminal file and the rumors that still surround him.

Curated by Eugenio Viola

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«Υπάρχει ένας όρος για όσους λένε ότι ‘και οι δύο πλευρές είναι κακές’, όταν η μια πλευρά είναι οι ναζί. Αποκαλούνται φιλοναζί». Αυτό «γράφτηκε για τον Τραμπ και το #Charlottesville, αλλά ταιριάζει απόλυτα και στους Εσθονούς και στο Συνέδριό τους».

Το παραπάνω ήταν η τοποθέτηση της ΓΓ Ανθρώπινων Δικαιωμάτων κ. Μαρίας Γιαννακάκη, μετά την άρνηση του υπουργού Δικαιοσύνης κ. Σταύρου Κοντονή να πάρει η Ελλάδα μέρος στο διεθνές συνέδριο που διοργανώνει η εσθονική προεδρία της ΕΕ για  τα εγκλήματα στα κομμουνιστικά καθεστώτα.