Frühling and Erlenhein open animal rights exhibition in Tallinn

Artists Mari Frühling and Krete Erlenhein opened the exhibition “Breakthrough” at Art & Tonic gallery in Tallinn on August 19, ERR reported. The exhibition explores people’s relationship with other species.

The title reflects the phrase “läbi murre”, or “through break”, which the artists say captures the central feeling behind their collaboration.

“We ask what the title ‘animal friend’ means in a society where killing animals can be a paid job or a work of art, while saving an animal can be activism. Who is it acceptable to mourn in such a case, and who is not?” the artists said in describing the exhibition’s starting point.

Based on their personal observations, Frühling and Erlenhein said people readily agree with animal rights activists until veganism is mentioned, just as they agree with human rights activists until feminism is mentioned. As women and human animals, they see a clear connection between the two social justice movements.

The exhibition is based on the artists’ belief that extending empathy to animals is safe for humans but vital for other species.

Frühling, born in 1984, is a freelance painter who graduated cum laude from the painting programme at Pallas University of Applied Sciences in Tartu in 2025. She received the Pallas painting scholarship in 2024, which led to a solo exhibition at Tartu Art House.

“With these paintings, I am continuing to develop the subject of animal rights, which I have previously explored in the series ‘Shared Space’ at Tartu Art House in 2024 and ‘The Dissonance Trilogy’ at Pallas Gallery in 2025,” Frühling said.

Erlenhein, born in 1988, is a painter and illustrator whose figurative paintings have a Cubist direction and have been shown at numerous exhibitions and auctions. She is currently continuing her painting studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

“My work moves on the boundary between Cubism and Surrealism, where fragmented forms and displaced images create space to explore empathy, identity and inner tensions. I often use female figures to address vulnerability, care and resistance. For me, the female figure symbolises those whose voices often remain in the background of society,” Erlenhein said.