“Recycled Stories” (Taaskasutatud lood) was an artistic research project by artist Katarina Meister about the memory of objects and the conveyance of that memory, when the objects or their owners disappear.

The former Rakvere train station building now houses a flea market into which we seamlessly fitted our site-specific installation. On the shelf-space we rented, visitors could look at and buy T-shirts and canvas bags which were printed with stories of remembered objects (a total of 20 different stories). Stories of objects have an important place in the memories of deportees – many of them have been preserved just like relics whilst some objects have survived only as memories. Such objects are like anchors for the memory that hold within personal testimonies as well as zeitgeist the era.

43 train wagons left from near Rakvere train station on 27 March 1949 with 950 people, of whom 453 were women and 300 children. The destination of the train was Abakan, 5,000 kilometres away.

Our programme included hanging a sign bearing the name “Abakan” at the flea market in the former Rakvere train station building and planting a Novosibirsk bird cherry tree near the former train station building.

Stories by Heino (1934), Pärja (1955), Rein (1935), Paul (1949), Eha (1936), Henn (1941), Maimu (1925-2018), Asta (1944) ja Tiit (1938).

Examples of object stories:

SKIS MADE FROM A GARDEN FENCE
Some boys secretly extracted planks from a garden fence and bent them into skis using some benches. By morning, the skis were ready, but by the end of classes, they had reverted to straight planks.

CHALK EGGS
There was a poultry farm in the village. Walking past it, us kids, always had a hankering for eggs. Stealing from the poultry farm was forbidden, but we knew that chickens liked to lay eggs in secret nests. So, we hid eggs made of chalk in some nettles to entice the hens.

ICE WINDOW
Windows were made of ice since glass was no available. In the winter, window frames were placed in the river where they became covered in ice. Then they were removed from the river and fitted into buildings. In the spring the windows melted.

LIMESTONE MOTORBIKE
My cousin and I built a motorbike from limestone and then sat atop it making engine noises the whole day. By the evening both our tongues were sore.

CLAY BUNNY
We sat sadly in a silo pit. It was raining and we had to dig a drainage ditch into the clay soil. When the brigadier came we asked to be allowed home. He told us we would have to work till the evening. I made a bunny out of clay and passed it to the brigadier. He mellowed and let us go.

PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO WITH NO ELECTRICITY
I started taking photographs when we were sent a petrol lamp and plywood box from Estonia. The lens of the camera poked through a hole made in the box. I put the developed film in the apparatus, placed the lamp behind the box and projected the image onto the wall. Then I nailed the photo paper onto the wall. That’s how I made the first photos with a petrol lamp.
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