Elle Mets: ‘Amazing Iceland’

Monday, 24 May 2021

Photographer Elle Mets has worked with the Annelinna branch of Tartu City Library and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia to put together a stunning exhibition entitled ‘Amazing Iceland’. Anyone wishing to can also take the exhibition on loan.

Mets is from the small town of Türi. She is an Estonian language teacher by trade, working at a school in Tartu. “There are so many things I enjoy in life,” she says. “I love travelling, reading, choral singing and art – both appreciating it and making it myself – and just generally being creative. But my greatest passion is photography, which is something I’ve been involved in now for decades. I’m more of a nature photographer, but urban life has started to win me over as well for its diversity, and of course people. I absolutely adore the Estonian islands – I take myself off on photographic tours of them every year, from the best-known ones to those most people have never heard of.”

Mets has previously put together exhibitions of the images her cameras have captured. “Well over a hundred of them, in fact – both personal and joint exhibitions,” she reveals. “Apart from this one, there’s an exhibition of mine on the Azores that’s doing the rounds in Estonia at the moment, and I’ve contributed to a joint exhibition called ‘Island Charm’ about the islands of Prangli and Keri.”

No doubt many people have been struck at some point in their lives by a desire to visit Iceland. This fascinating island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is steeped in legend and rich in sights that struggle to fit in to our perception of reality. “Who wouldn’t want to see and feel and experience all that for themselves!” says Mets. “Marvelling at the power of geysers, sailing between icebergs on glacial lakes in the middle of summer and admiring the glowering beauty of the country’s volcanic landscapes.”

Mets had the good fortune to be able to explore Iceland last summer. “It was such an emotional rollercoaster – in the best possible sense – that I just had to share it,” she says. “Obviously I wanted to do that in pictures, since they speak to me more than words. That was what led to the idea of putting together this exhibition: showcasing my experiences of amazing Iceland!”

The exhibition is open at Nõo Church in Tartu County in May and June. Thereafter it can be taken on loan by contacting Mets (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Madis Kanarbik (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

The exhibition was supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia.

To see all of the exhibitions available to loan click here.

 Island 1


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