In 2020 I submitted my idea to the Viljandi City competition to build a monument for the esteemed Estonian singer Jaak Joala, and I managed to win this competition and started working on the project. 

While completing the work, Jaak Joala’s widow visited me on one dark autumn evening. I showed her the design, and she suggested changing one thing and another and some more in a portrait. I immediately made these changes according to her suggestions in the dim light and, unfortunately, messed up the portrait, which was much more similar to Jaak before. I tried to correct it in daylight later, but I couldn’t restore the delicate touch that was there earlier.

However, the memorial was finished in high quality and opened for all to see. And then the quarrel started. Most importantly, Joala’s widow changed her attitude towards the sculpture, with whom we had gotten along very well until then. I called her, and she said that she knew the statue was ugly even though she said she didn’t see it and didn’t want to. Noise pollution around the statue was also criticised, it was chosen as an absurd place for the monument. Hidden behind a corner, between the wooden houses, a dormant zone with the wish that it revives town tourism. 

Since it was corona time, everyone had time to sit at home, sharpen their tongues and tap their keyboards. What followed was madness. My phone was buzzing. Mud-slinging was everywhere. Fortunately, some called and expressed support and praise. Joala’s widow claimed to the city that it was sloppy work. An opposition-affiliated designer at the time and later Deputy Mayor for Culture poured fuel on the fire by calling my work careless and a mess. And so it happened; first, the city covered it with wooden walls a month after opening, and sometime later, it was taken down without informing me. The statue and the box were handed over to the Estonian National Museum, where it is still today.

The worst thing was seeing what people could become. This affected me quite severely. I tried to look like a tough guy in interviews, but I’ve never been accused of doing anything sloppy or negligent in my work. The most severe insult was the “haltura” accusation. Yes, Joala’s portrait could have been better, but as I said, Maire Joala also has a part in it.

Of course, this incident also badly tarnished my reputation, and whether it will recover in my lifetime is unknown. People are sceptical of me, some of my work has been put on hold, and larger orders are now more likely to bypass me.

Two esteemed Estonian sculptors have committed suicide, and it was clear to me as a young creator that survival is the most important thing. This profession grows a thick skin, but I could not have foreseen such a lesson.

But at least all this noise was helpful, and the people found out who made the famous kissers of the city of Tartu or the pig in front of the market building.