Urve Tonnus

We are continuously confronted with the wastes of manufacturing, consuming and the overflow of advertising in our contemporary consumer society. To draw attention to this abundance of production, I have used old second hand materials, such as magazines, newspapers, trinkets (jewellery) and clothes in creating my works, giving them a new life and purpose. I have used my friend’s jewellery and clothes and also my own, perpetuating the memories of the past.
In daily life I am a member of the board of the Estonian Female Computer Graphic Society and act as graphic, product and web designer. The fact that my IT partners are mainly men impels me to find my feminine side and reflect on feminine roles in society and also in private life. Throughout history, women have been raised to the status of goddesses or pop-icons. Therefore portraits of favourite characters and philosophical compositions are represented. It is a real pleasure and freedom to compose collages, as it offers a welcome change to regular customer orders.
My works can be interpreted in different ways with the help of symbolism. Hieronymus Bosch and Salvador Dali are my favourite artists. It is possible, that they influenced the „Woman“ series. Some works have been inspired by my travel impressions and are based on photos I have taken on my travels. The collage called „Time“ touches an environmentalist topic, as it draws attention to one of the greatest dangers that our time will leave to the future generations – the polluted landscapes.

I had 4 solo exhibitions of collages in Estonia and 1.-27.march 2016 in Piirto Gallery in Helsinki. In October 2016 took part of group exhibition in Piirto gallery.
Brooches have been on exhibitions in Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Italy. Sold to Germany, USA, Australia, Finland, Sweden.