Monster Chetwynd praises Estonian performers and her Tartu exhibition

British artist Monster Chetwynd says Estonian performers Üllar Jörberg and Onu Bella have inspired her work. Chetwynd, whose exhibition “With a tail and horns” has been on show at the Estonian National Museum since summer, spoke to ERR’s “Ringvaade” about her ties to Tartu and her art.

Chetwynd first came to Tartu more than a decade ago because of her then-spouse’s work. She stayed in Estonia from January to March with her 10-month-old son, experiencing the city in deep winter.

“We saw what it was like to live with a baby in cold Tartu, when you had to pull the child on a sled because of the ice rather than push a pram,” she said. She called it extraordinary to be invited back to the same city.

Chetwynd studied anthropology and was the first performance artist nominated for the Turner Prize, shortly before her first visit to Tartu. She later attended a concert by Jörberg and Onu Bella, whom she described as very different and wonderful.

“It was expressive and silly. Sorry, I shouldn’t say that, but it was lovely. I was so excited,” she said. She contacted the two performers about working together, and they replied, but the collaboration did not go ahead.

Since then, Chetwynd’s work has been shown in major contemporary art galleries across Europe. In 2018, giant snails she created decorated the entrance to Tate Britain in London. Her Estonian National Museum exhibition travelled to Tartu from Copenhagen.

She said the larger hall at the museum gave her more freedom to create an immersive, magical world. Chetwynd also noted that she had encountered less resistance to masks and other elements that might frighten people than in some other countries, including Denmark.

Chetwynd said irritation can motivate her creative work, comparing it to the grain of sand that helps form a pearl inside an oyster. When she feels strongly about something that is not sufficiently valued or widely shared in culture, she feels compelled to respond.

Playfulness also shapes her personal life. She has changed her name three times: first to Spartacus Chetwynd, then to Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, and, for the past eight years, Monster. She was born Alalia.