Kristina Norman is an artist and documentary filmmaker. In her work she often explores the issues of collective memory. In St. Petersburg, she positions a sculpture of a Christmas tree outside the Winter Palace-in the middle of summer. Her research critically interrogates the notion of historical “truths.” This particular project also tests different possibilities of making visual and semantic connections with the main squares in other cities of the former Soviet Union, including the Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kiev. Here, the site is depicted as a place for permanent negotiation in post-Soviet society.

Norman has dedicated several years of her life investigating monument cases in Estonia. Videos and mixed-media installations Monolith (2007), Community (2008), and After-War (2009) deal with the issues of cultural memory, collective identity, and belonging that surround the Bronze Soldier monument in Tallinn. A feature-length documentary, A Monument to Please Everyone (2011), gives an insight into the construction of the Estonian national identity through the process of building the main national monument of Estonia – the Victory Column of the War of Independence 1918–1920. In her recent artworks 0.8 Square Metres (2012) and Common Ground (2013) Norman touches on the issues of political imprisonment, migration, and displacement. Norman holds an M.A. in visual arts from the Estonian Academy of Arts, where she is currently a PhD student and a lecturer.

Palace Square
July 20
12.00 noon