Poska

Jaan Poska would have turned 150 years old in 24th January 2016. With this statue sculptor Elo Liiv wanted to capture a "moment" of a true Estonian legend under whose leadership a historical peace treaty was signed back in 2nd February 1920 that resulted in Estonia gaining independence from Soviet Russia. The time-frame between inital concept and finished statue took slightly more than a year. Large portion of the time involved designing a 1:1 size model out of clay that was positioned around a light steel carcass and polystyrene foam. Sculpting was based on rare photos of the man himself while also new photos were created with the help of a model whose attitude and professionalism the sculptor compared to Mr. Poska himself. Even more authenticity was achieved by letting the model wear specially made era-based clothing. This allowed the sculptor to get detailed photos from every angle and give believability to the pose and the way the clothes would behave. As soon as the clay model was deemed ready with the deadline looming it was quickly covered in plaster in order to get a full body mold for bronzework involving casting and welding. The finished model weighing about 200 kg's was then installed to a specially cast concrete floor. The bronze model now situates in Kadriorg park in a walkway that can be viewed and accessed from a street named after Mr. Poska himself. It's as if the passers-by could catch a moment of the great man on an eternal stroll.