In the forthcoming exhibition Exploded View, new and recent works by Estonian artist Paul Kuimet (b. 1984) and Norwegian artist Magnhild Øen Nordahl (b. 1985) consider the relationship between visual representation and the lived experience of spaces and objects. Curated by Anthea Buys (ZA).
The title, Exploded View, refers to a method of technical drawing in which the components of a functional object, tool or machine are depicted in such a way that their component parts are visible, in order to show how they should be assembled. This taking apart in order to reconfigure is a central metaphor in the exhibition.
Exploded View presents two parallel but intersecting artistic investigations: Kuimet’s new analogue photographic and filmic works take as their starting point hand-drawn architectural plans for domestic spaces. These drawings are transformed by lens-based looking and its material outputs – the alluring depth of analogue photographic surfaces and the distinctive materiality of 16 mm film.
Nordahl’s sculptures are also about journeys of material and visual translation, and her practice is at once research-based and embodied. The works presented in this exhibition look at how we experience objects that have gone through digital and physical abstractions, which in turn lead to changes in form, function and cultural meaning. A juxtaposition of two profoundly self-coherent practices, Exploded View suggests a vital connection between scale, imaging, materiality, embodiement and perception.
Exploded View is open at Kai Art Center from 21 March to 9 August 2026.
The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment, the City of Tallinn, and Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA).