Traditional gender roles are often considered as predestined as the laws of nature, rather than the co-creation of society. This is exactly why they are so persistent. According to the most common stereotypes, women are expected to stay young forever on the one hand and to become mothers on the other. Such roles are reiterated in education, media and culture. But what happens if you don’t want to take on either role? And so Maria Kapajeva asks directly: “Isn’t there any other possibility?”

“The exhibition focuses on society’s expectations of women and the social invisibility that follows the age of 40. Should a woman make a decision about her life that is not in line with the traditional notion of her role in society, she may be considered selfish. In worst cases, such women could fall victim to public witch-hunts. With my new works, I wish to offer visitors the opportunity to think about these topics,” Kapajeva says, in describing her exhibition.

The exhibition, which consists of six new works, dissects complex and often contradictory topics. Various materials, light humour, sharp straightforwardness and cold statistics offer visitors opportunities to engage in dialogue.

The exhibition is part of a multi-year cycle focusing on 21st century feminism and highlighting the critical issues that women face today. The solo exhibitions of Maria Kapajeva, Flo Kasearu, Laura Kuusk and Ede Raadik focus on complex topics such as care and body politics, the impact of technology on everyday life, violence and trauma, work and poverty, and fertility and physical fading.