Mia Melanie Saar „Tema pool voodit”

Mia Melanie Saar “Her Side of the Bed” Opening October 7 at 18:00 07.10.–07.11.2026 Pärnu City Gallery Artists' House, Nikolai 27, Pärnu On Wednesday, October 7 at 18:00, Mia Melanie Saar's solo exhibition “Her Side of the Bed”, curated by Veronika Bedova, opens at Pärnu City Gallery Artists' House. On being a daughter, on being a mother, on a mother being a mother, as if it were a role, a cultural phenomenon and something passed down. Falling asleep next to my mother has been a safe moment. A moment when everything could quiet down for a while and one could simply breathe calmly. Close one's eyes, draw one's knees to one's chest, curl up and rest one's head on the corner of the pillow. What is on the other side of the bed? Her side of the bed is not a statement, but rather a space that opens up as a question. It was born from phantom conversations over recent years, texts read together, diary entries and notes left beside the nightstand. It is a fragile space of thought assembled from personal experiences. From an intimate and contradictory place, Mia Melanie Saar invites us to look at the relationship between mothers and daughters—a relationship in which words sometimes fail, where the voice trembles and falters. Where lines of writing are written incorrectly or misinterpreted, and understanding arrives too late or not at all. What was it you said? E̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶g̶e̶s̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶e̶s̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶.̶ Should have, could have. Saar approaches her personal archive through the tradition of making patchwork quilts passed down in her family. Here, handicraft becomes an indirect means of communication, a thread that holds things together and mends them. In the artist's family, this skill, which began with her grandmother's passion, has always been present. It has moved from one room to another—sometimes as a warm quilt, sometimes as a way to give existing materials a new life, to mend, supplement and reuse them. For Saar, gathering and fitting things together is not merely an artistic framework, but the essence of her painting. Drawing on Deborah Levy's search for a voice in a situation where saying one's own words proves impossible, the works explore different ways of concealment—physical and structural, as well as internal and sensory. Emotionally charged stories may hide inside objects, opening only when light falls on them, or gradually fading over time. They may be barely perceptible images or exist solely as an inner experience. The exhibition creates an imagined space where the visible and the hidden can exchange places. It is an attempt to find something that was once hidden—or, conversely, to find a place to hide oneself. Mia Melanie Saar (2000) is a painter and curator working in Estonia. She earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Tartu Higher Art School Pallas (2023) and continued her studies at NABA University in Rome (2024). Saar's work stems from a deep connection to her South Estonian roots, which she views through an international art practice. Her paintings are characterized by bold colors and an expressive style, bringing together elements of naïvism and surrealism. Primarily painting on canvas in oils, Saar turns everyday scenes into emotionally charged stories, inviting viewers back to curiosity—that raw, immediate and genuine part of human experience. Saar is a co-founder and curator of Lauda Gallery in the Otepää area. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Estonia and abroad, including in London, Porto and Helsinki. Veronika Bedova (2002) is a Rome-based photographer and curator with an academic education in art. She studied at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) campuses in both London and Moscow and holds a degree from the “Rosario Gagliardi” Academy of Fine Arts in Syracuse (MADE Program). Her curatorial interests focus mainly on the relationship between language and collective memory or the absence of memory, as well as intimate and restorative forms of curating and storytelling. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in visual arts and curatorial studies at NABA in Rome. More information: art@miamelaniesaar.com , bedovaveronika@gmail.com Instagram: miamelaniesaar veronika_bedova Admission to Pärnu City Gallery exhibitions is free. Pärnu City Gallery opening hours: Tuesday–Friday 11:00–17:00, Saturday 11:00–14:00 (closed on public holidays).