Exhibition “Messages from Antiquity”

The international exhibition “Messages from Antiquity” (Latvia, Estonia) is on view at the Cēsis Exhibition Hall from 14 March to 24 May.

The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore the approximately 6,000-year-old petroglyphs of Lake Onega in Karelia, combining archaeological heritage with the reflections of contemporary artists within the cultural space of Latvia and Estonia. The exhibition highlights the significance of ancient signs in contemporary culture, redefining petroglyphs as an active resource for contemporary art and the search for personal identity.

The exhibition is based on a scientifically verified informational layer, comprising materials accumulated over decades by researchers Väino Poikalainen and Enn Ernits of the Estonian Society of Prehistoric Art—photographs, diagrams, and maps of the area around Lake Onega. Visitors will have the opportunity to view valuable large-scale (1:1) copies of rubbings, which Loit Jõekalda, Eve Selisaar, Ülle Meister made directly from prehistoric rocks. These copies accurately preserve the structure and scale of the ancient lines, providing an authentic experience of the anthropomorphic figures and animal symbols that are usually accessible only in their natural environment.
Artists Kadi Pajupuu (Estonia), Eve Tiidolepp (Estonia), Marilyn Piirsalu (Estonia) and Ginta Kristjansone (Latvia) have created artworks that interpret the materiality and symbolic thinking of the ancient signs.

“The exhibition serves as an interdisciplinary crossroads where facts become the basis for creative reflection, inviting viewers to consider our shared cultural code and its continuity,” says the exhibition’s curator, Ginta Kristjansone.

The exhibition opens on 14 March at 4:00 p.m.