Jaanus Samma at Basel Social Club

Basel Social Club
Jaanus Samma
June 15–21, 2025
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Temnikova & Kasela is pleased to announce a solo presentation by Jaanus Samma at Basel Social Club.
Samma’s presentation includes two hand-woven rugs and the video 'AAFAGC'.
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The rug 'Snakes' is dedicated to Count Eric Stenbock (1860–1895), a British and Baltic German writer and poet known for his decadent stories, and his imprint on local folklore in Kolga, Estonia, where he inherited a manor from his grandfather. He stayed there for only a few years and struggled to adapt to the provincial lifestyle but his eccentric manners and strange hobbies made a lasting impression on the locals. His miniature zoo, for instance, included a monkey and a parrot, as well as wolf and bear cubs. He was also known for startling dinner guests by hiding a snake in his dinner jacket.
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Jaanus Samma (b. 1982) is a visual artist based in Tallinn, Estonia. His work explores queer desire, public space, and cultural tradition through installation, sculpture, drawing, and textiles. Focusing on the intersection of history, ethnography, and museology, he examines gender and national identity by locating queer subjectivity within heteronormative contexts. Combining fieldwork, oral history, and archival research, he reclaims charged symbols through storytelling and spatial intervention. In 2015, he represented Estonia at the 56th Venice Biennale with his project “NSFW. A Chairman’s Tale”.
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Jaanus Samma
Snakes, 2024-2025
hand woven rug, wool, linen, iron
199 × 97 cm
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Woven by Ene Koppelmann
Metal work by Villu Mustkivi
Co-funded by European Union
Photo by Stanislav Stepaško
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