The in-betweenness that we sensed around Paljassaare came out quite strong at the "mysterious chapel", how it is often referred to, which is located on the plot of a recycling station.
Often overlooked and not very well known, it represents a place with little to no information, a place full of legends and narratives. What can this structure tell us about the fragments of Paljassaare, its in-betweenness and its vagueness? How can we see it as an entrance point, trying to grasp the twilight zones of the Peninsula?
The chapel was not easy to research on, since most of the information and stories around it were rather informal, vague and were kept and told by only a few people.
Therefore it became quite clear to us, that we were dependent on certain people to tell us more about the chapel, on oral information. We met Tarmo , who initiated the center for sustainable renovation, as one of the view people that are genuinely interested in the chapel. He told us a lot of stories about the chapel and gave us insights into his ideas about a possible future of this place.
"Military territory means closed up information". - Tarmo Elvisto
Due to the fact that for many years Paljassaare was a military boarder zone which was closed to the public, it enabled a certain informality. The history of the chapel seemed to be kept as a secret and unaccessible for the public.
Another interview with the architecture historian and military heritage expert Robert Treufeldt supported our approach of seeing the chapel as an entrance point for understanding Paljassaare's characteristics of our perceived in-betweenness.
PROJECT
Through our project, we wanted to invite to sense and question the in-between layers of wasted and valued and think about how to care for a place of neglect.
We intended our guests to experience and sense these aspects coming together at the chapel on their own, followed by some stories about the chapel that we gathered through our research.
During one of the interviews we were introduced to the idea of talgud. “Traditionally, it was common in Estonian peasant culture to organize an event where a household would invite neighbours and relatives to help with bigger works that would simply take too much time to accomplish alone. In exchange, the hosting family would offer food, accommodation and celebration”.