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commissioned by The Travellers, Kumu Art Museum, curated by Magdalena Moskalewicz

video / DV-PAL / 7′

Sound Juhan Vihterpal
Color Epp Kubu

Two People by the Beach follows two Estonian women in their seventies during a summer vacation in Turkey: floating on an inflatable mattress, enjoying a cigarette at a beachside bar and getting a full-body massage in a Turkish bath. Filmed by the artist as she accompanied her grandmother and great-aunt on a package tour in 2009, the footage includes images of ageing bodies in both recreational and erotically charged situations—images not usually portrayed in commercial representations of summer vacationing. The artist shows the two elderly ladies enjoying their leisure time without judgment or pretense.

The artist’s grandmother provided the captions explaining the images as she reviewed the video years after the vacation. Cheap flights and the relative affordability of countries such as Turkey and Egypt have made them popular summer destinations for the Estonian middle class. Kasearu’s focus on two retirees reveals the appeal of these package tours for the older generation.

Text by Magdalena Moskalewicz