Kai Kaljo (b. 1959) is a graduate of the painting department of the Estonian Academy of Arts. Since 1997, she has mainly worked in the media of video and photography. Her works are characterized by humour and sarcasm and the use of personal details to make larger political statements.
The artist’s father, the graphic artist Richard Kaljo, wrote many letters to his daughter in the 1960s and 1970s in which the dramatic history of the first half of the 20th century is related to an individual’s experience. On the basis of these and other materials, Kai Kaljo put together a video called “My Father’s Letters” (2014).
In the colour book “Women in Fog” (2016), black-and-white Tallinn scenes are combined with Kai Kaljo’s drawings of women in the capital city. The reason for the selection of format probably lies in the artist’s past work. Known for her autobiographical works, Kaljo perhaps lacks the ambition to create portraits of Tallinn and its people herself; that is why she supplies empty thought bubbles so the book users can do so instead.
