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| Competitive Dita Birkenšteina, Student, Art Academy of Latvia For Time* 08.06.–14.06.2013. The Tobacco Factory Irīna Spičaka, Krišjānis Rijnieks, Platons Buravickis. Metasphere 18.05.–13.06.2013. RIXC Media Space | |
| The first half of June abounds in various art events, especially with regard to the younger generation of artists – this is the time when students graduating from the Art Academy of Latvia are actively putting up exhibitions of their diploma works. The Tobacco Factory held a week-long exhibition For Time, which served as a calling card for eleven graduates of the Department of Visual Communications of the Art Academy of Latvia: Anete Dambrova, Madara Dzintara, Gatis Kurzemnieks, Madara Lesīte, Sabīne Moore, Jānis Straumēns, Inese Vēriņa, Konstantīns Višņevskis, Ksenija Zaķe, Marta Zariņa-Ģelze and Santa Zembaha. In a differ- ent exhibition, Irīna Špičaka’s diploma work for a master’s degree in the same department was on show at the RIXC Media Space. Not surprisingly, the graduates of this particular department presented at the For Time exhibition mostly multimedia works and installations, starting with Jānis Straumēns’ hybrid horn object, Anete Dombrovska’s surreal door installation, Sabīne Moore’s kaleidoscope and ending with an interactive 3D animation by Gatis Kurzemnieks. In comparison with previous years, it is evident that this year’s graduates are chiefly interested in working in three dimensions, given the absence of two-dimen- sional works (for example, silk-screen prints, graphic design projects and photography, except for the work by Inese Vēriņa which, besides objects and video, also includes photographs). The most complex work at the exhibition is the installation ensemble Materiality by Konstantīns Višņevskis, a work in four parts where the artist has visualized his interpretations on materiality. How massive is the mechanism that hides behind a fragile sound? What does a data system look like on paper? Is it possible to materialize the invisible? What information is hidden behind an object and how does the material content differ from the non-material content? These are just a few of the questions that Višņevskis elicits with his work. To some degree the work Meanwhile by Inese Vēriņa continues the theme of materiality, striving to capture or restore the atmosphere of time gone by. Fading old photographs behind tinted glass are displayed against the background of tranquilly “breathing” black balloons and a heap of worn boots. These are facing an upside down coffee table with a place setting for tea and a video which invites the viewer to follow a girl walking towards the darkness and fad- ing into it, sketching an undetermined private space where the present intertwines with the past. The exhibition is dominated by video, mostly though as an element of video installation in the works of Dzintara, Lesīte, Zaķe and Zariņa-Ģelze. Santa Zembaha’s work 4M, however, stands out as an independent video work. The four-projection installation includes a video made of close-up portraits of dancers’ faces, shot at that instant when dancers performing a pirouette focus their eyes on a certain spot in order to keep their balance. The author has tried to visualize the duration of a moment. By varying the dimension of time, the movement is modified, starting with barely visible action in slow motion and ending with physically impossible acceleration. In combination with the soundtrack, the video offers a rich emotional range: from absolute peace to a surreal eeriness, demonstrating the sheer volume of events and emotions that are possible during such a short span of time as a moment. It has to be said, however, that the overall view of the rich and varied exhibition presented a rather motley effect. This makes one wonder whether the ele- ment that holds the exhibition together is only the time spent together at the Academy, or whether there other more delicate uniting ties lying hidden. On the one hand, the fragmentation is understandable, taking into account that each diploma work is an individual project with the aim of presenting the author’s creative capabilities in the best way possible, and it is most likely that teamwork became an issue only shortly before the exhibi- tion was to be set up. Even though this is a valid argument as to why the exhibition For Time is more like a showcase of separate works, on the other hand, the exhibition as a whole makes the viewer query the connection between the displayed works, and what really is the meaning behind the title For Time. Maybe* the viewers have to guess it for themselves. | |
 Anete Dambrova. Metamorphosis. Installation. Fragment. 2013 Photo: Vents Āboltiņš Publicity photos Courtesy of the artist | |
| Irīna Špičaka’s decision to display her project independently of the other diploma works can be considered to be a good choice. Her audiovisual installation Metasphere was on view at the RIXC Media Space till June 13. Špičaka is the author of the concept, but to implement the installation she worked together with new media artist Krišjānis Rijnieks and sound artist Platons Buravickis. Here they have used the projection mapping(1) technique which Špičaka and her creative partner Rijnieks have been interested in for some time. The basis of Metasphere is a spatial projection surface (2x2 metres) – a hemispherical object made out of triangular modules and for audiovisual projections which, in turn, play with the basic shapes of the background object (dots, lines and triangles). The geometrical shapes form a larger object which resonates with the title of the installation. The compound word points to the small units of the whole (the sphere) which are in the process of transition or change. Metas- phere contains a message of an anthropomorphic nature, name- ly, the sphere is a personification of the human being, and the changing units of the projection refer to a person’s inner world which is changeable and in constant movement. The sounds and the visual material had been devised as a synchronized cyclical composition that started with subdued flashes of small dots. These were gradually replaced by lines and triangles, and then, little by little, the pulsating energy of geometrical shapes sped up to the maximum, returning when capacity was exhausted, to the starting point. In summary, looking back at both exhibitions it can be con- cluded that overall the new “wizcoms” have proved themselves to be witty artists, capable of standing up to competition in the contemporary art environment, and reassuring us that with the youngest generation of artists all is well. Translation into English: Vita Limanoviča * Translator’s note: the Latvian word “laikam” has different meanings, depending on the part of speech. If used as a noun, the meaning is “for time”, otherwise it means “probably” or “maybe”. (1) Projection mapping or 3D mapping is a technical method which allows to project video visualizations on three-dimensional surfaces, and by deforming the customary projection surface, adds to the visual means of expression. Even though projection mapping is not a novelty in Western art (the beginnings of this technique can be found already in the 1960s), this method is not widespread in the Latvian contemporary art scene, and Metasphere is one of the few projects which has permitted the observation of this method in person. | |
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