Exhibition opening: double tour with Heikki Leis & Šejla Kamerić

Heikki Leis “Storm Before the Silence” & Šejla Kamerić “EX YOU”

On 8 October, Fotografiska Tallinn opens two new exhibitions inviting visitors to explore the body, memory and identity and the ways in which our surroundings can transform our perception.

In “Storm Before the Silence”, versatile and experimental Estonian artist Heikki Leis explores humanity’s primal connection with water, and how the body and movement are transformed in water, shifting our familiar perception of ourselves and the world around us. The exhibition text has been written by author Jan Kaus.

Bosnian-born artist Šejla Kamerić’s “EX YOU” is a deeply personal and powerful exploration of intergenerational memory, belonging and the burdens we carry with us, as well as resistance: a woman’s right to her body, identity and story, and the possibility of reclaiming them from the frames imposed by the past.

Opening night October 8

On the opening night, we’ll raise a glass before heading out on a guided tour with the artists and curators. We’ll hear the stories behind the exhibitions, follow the artists through their creative journeys, and let them open the doors to the worlds from which these works emerged.

Setting the mood will be No Fuss Weiß, Fotografiska Tallinn’s very own wine, poured into your welcome glass. A white wine from the brand-new vintage, alongside Fotografiska’s delicious lemonade for those who prefer something refreshing without the alcohol.

Come and discover how the themes of these two seemingly very different exhibitions speak to one another and how, in their own ways, both tell stories about what we carry in our bodies, our memories and our personal narratives, and what we may be ready to leave behind.

HEIKKI LEIS STORM BEFORE THE SILENCE, 9 October 2026 – 7 March 2027

Versatile and experimental Estonian artist Heikki Leis explores the primal connection between humans and water in his exhibition Storm Before the Silence, examining how the body and movement transform in water and how our habitual perception of ourselves and our surroundings begins to shift.

ŠEJLA KAMERIĆ EX YOU, 9 October 2026 – 7 March 2027

The Bosnian artist’s work explores the burdens passed down to women through generations and the possibility of breaking free from them and reclaiming one’s own story.

Through photography, sculpture, installation, and sound, Kamerić explores memory, identity, and belonging, using her own body as a site of resistance and self-determination.

The exhibition title refers both to personal experience and to the former Yugoslavia, or ex-YU – a place that has politically ceased to exist but lives on in cultural memory – asking what we carry with us from the past, what we are able to leave behind, and what remains.

Header:

Heikki Leis. Seeriast 'Torm enne vaikust' - From the series 'Storm Before the Calm' - 2023.

We Come With A Bow, 2019 © Šejla Kamerić. Courtesy of Galerie Tanja Wagner, Berlin_1