Series of Belongings
Living room solo exhibition, presented a collection of applied and decorative ceramics by Kati Saarits and collaborative textile piece with Brit Pavelson. Thematically rooted in local Estonian industrial ceramic heritage, It reimagined forgotten functionalities around ceramic homeware categories that were once common in households during the peak of Soviet-era factory production, but had up until now lost their relevance in contemporary home settings. The collection consisted of four elements from following object categories - a wall tile, ikebana vase, wall vase and sekser (a sectioned serving dish). These forms, inspired by selected iconic designs from local factories, had exchanged elements of form and function with one another — the decorative wall plate landed on the table as a
functional vessel, while small ikebana vases adopted pattern logics borrowed from sectioned serving dishes. At the conceptual core of both the production and the display of these objects layed home-making
instructions sourced from local vintage magazines. These publications were once carriers of knowledge, skills and trends, filled with all kinds of guidance on handicraft, table setting, folding a tablecloth and dressing oneself. Whether taken
literally or interpreted more abstractly, the tone of these instructional materials and my (primarily visual) research into local household magazines accompanied the exhibition.
The solo show explored everyday objects and tableware as carriers of identity and memory. It asked how sentimentality and nostalgia became embedded in the textures and materials that surrounded us, and how the presence and functions of certain objects have shaped our understanding of “home.” The exhibition also gently uncovered the nuances around industrial ceramics making processes, especially slip casting as a technique. The work examined the value systems behind industrial production mechanisms and the often-invisible marks of labour in both the making of tableware and in the routines of using them in table settings that followed. Which objects were cherished and which were cast aside? What did the pursuit of perfect uniformity lead to and what became of the imperfect outcomes?
It is not only the final object that holds meaning, but also the patterns of repetition, accidents, and resistance that follow the process of making. Autonomous choices and tender hesitations reflect gestures of care. They speak to the often overlooked labour of domestic life: napkin wrinkles from the folds, carefully arranged flowers, plates stacked after guests leave. These actions follow a long line of expected, often gendered, labour that continues to go unacknowledged. Household chores related to homemaking and hosting have been long positioned as "women's work" and are rooted in notions of perfection or perfectionism, which values the final appearance over the full process. Tableware and decorative homeware, along with their associated rituals of care, cleaning, and presentation also inherently carry this marking of invisible labour.
Series of Belongings tried to offer a space where imperfections could coexist with polish, where repeated manual acts could still follow intuitive paths and where vulnerable, unknown outcomes could be valued alongside structured, planned modes of making. Ceramics capture and froze acts — the press of a mold, the line of a tool, the memory of touch. This work was too aimed to vanish before it was ever acknowledged. But here, it also left its mark. Not to necessarily to romanticise it, but to create room for its persistence, its presence.
Living room solo exhibition, presented a collection of applied and decorative ceramics by Kati Saarits and collaborative textile piece with Brit Pavelson. Thematically rooted in local Estonian industrial ceramic heritage, It reimagined forgotten functionalities around ceramic homeware categories that were once common in households during the peak of Soviet-era factory production, but had up until now lost their relevance in contemporary home settings. The collection consisted of four elements from following object categories - a wall tile, ikebana vase, wall vase and sekser (a sectioned serving dish). These forms, inspired by selected iconic designs from local factories, had exchanged elements of form and function with one another — the decorative wall plate landed on the table as a
functional vessel, while small ikebana vases adopted pattern logics borrowed from sectioned serving dishes. At the conceptual core of both the production and the display of these objects layed home-making
instructions sourced from local vintage magazines. These publications were once carriers of knowledge, skills and trends, filled with all kinds of guidance on handicraft, table setting, folding a tablecloth and dressing oneself. Whether taken
literally or interpreted more abstractly, the tone of these instructional materials and my (primarily visual) research into local household magazines accompanied the exhibition.
Graphic design and textile napkin designs by Brit Pavelson
Furniture design by Kaisa Sööt
With support from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Part of Kati Saarits’ MA thesis work in Craft Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts
Supervisers: Juliane Foronda, Juss Heinsalu and Kärt Ojavee
Photos: Hedi Jaansoo
Tallinn, 2025
Furniture design by Kaisa Sööt
With support from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Part of Kati Saarits’ MA thesis work in Craft Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts
Supervisers: Juliane Foronda, Juss Heinsalu and Kärt Ojavee
Photos: Hedi Jaansoo
Tallinn, 2025
The solo show explored everyday objects and tableware as carriers of identity and memory. It asked how sentimentality and nostalgia became embedded in the textures and materials that surrounded us, and how the presence and functions of certain objects have shaped our understanding of “home.” The exhibition also gently uncovered the nuances around industrial ceramics making processes, especially slip casting as a technique. The work examined the value systems behind industrial production mechanisms and the often-invisible marks of labour in both the making of tableware and in the routines of using them in table settings that followed. Which objects were cherished and which were cast aside? What did the pursuit of perfect uniformity lead to and what became of the imperfect outcomes?
It is not only the final object that holds meaning, but also the patterns of repetition, accidents, and resistance that follow the process of making. Autonomous choices and tender hesitations reflect gestures of care. They speak to the often overlooked labour of domestic life: napkin wrinkles from the folds, carefully arranged flowers, plates stacked after guests leave. These actions follow a long line of expected, often gendered, labour that continues to go unacknowledged. Household chores related to homemaking and hosting have been long positioned as "women's work" and are rooted in notions of perfection or perfectionism, which values the final appearance over the full process. Tableware and decorative homeware, along with their associated rituals of care, cleaning, and presentation also inherently carry this marking of invisible labour.
Series of Belongings tried to offer a space where imperfections could coexist with polish, where repeated manual acts could still follow intuitive paths and where vulnerable, unknown outcomes could be valued alongside structured, planned modes of making. Ceramics capture and froze acts — the press of a mold, the line of a tool, the memory of touch. This work was too aimed to vanish before it was ever acknowledged. But here, it also left its mark. Not to necessarily to romanticise it, but to create room for its persistence, its presence.
