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| Katrīna Neiburga. "Solitude" and “Topology No. 29” Jegors Jerohomovičs | |
| Loneliness or independence? The rolling photo technique used in Katrīna Neiburga's video installations "Solitude" (2005) and "Topology No. 29" (2007) makes it seem as if we are watching a film, when in fact we are seeing still photo images lined up/assembled in a constant flow. The artist says that this technique enables her to work without a cameraman or any other assistant. In these two works, "independence" or selfchosen solitude are especially important to her. Katrīna Neiburga has always studied expressions of individuality - young women have allowed her to look at the contents of their handbags, a taxi driver has shared his stories, and tea mushroom growers have revealed their magic secrets. Sometimes she even becomes the principal heroine of her own installations. "Solitude", an installation included in the collection of the KIASMA (Helsinki) museum of contemporary art, is Neiburga's 11 minute long meditation/reflection on loneliness, seclusion and alienation. In this work consisting of three video projections, the artist leads the viewer into her private space, yet emotional distance is maintained - this emotional and bodily loneliness is strangely cold, it even borders on indifference. | |
 Katrīna Neiburga. Solitude. 2005. Publicity photo | |
| The completely opposite effect is achieved by "Topology No. 29", also a very personal project in which, however, Neiburga takes on the role of careful observer. This work holds great reserves of warmth. It is also a study of individuality, but in this case the personality is not visible - instead, the artist masterfully, enthusiastically and subtly reconstructs other people's memories of the past. The photographs in which make up this installation were taken in an apartment which the former resident had left in an inexplicable hurry, abandoning all his belongings. "The man handed over the apartment to the building owner, declaring that he didn't need any of the things left behind. The belongings left behind were disturbing and frightening reminders of the former inhabitant of the apartment," states Neiburga, commenting on how this work came to be. "From a simple observer I changed into a person who is emotionally involved - I knew everything about his job, family, friends, hobbies (..) All about his dreams and dramas. The work provides insights into the imprints left in space by a human personality and by time. Our lives overlap, we all live in someone else's place, both over and on top of them," says the artist. You sense that Neiburga herself is very moved by "Topology." She didn't even go looking for the subject, it found her of its own accord - the abandoned apartment was in her own apartment building. Somebody's personal stories and the remains of their life: despair, signs of the times, faces, things, books, tables, sofas, dancing, celebrations. Once it was all alive - but no longer. Once it was warm, maybe even cosy here. But the rubbish can be thrown out, complete with all those feelings, and Katrīna will now have new neighbours. They will live there - over and on top of the memories of the past and other people's lives. The format of "Topology" could be described as a "film-strip", that is, a shifting view into time and space. The work's technical innovation, a robot that moves the projector, reinforces the effect of movement even more. Movement, or rather rhythmic structure - which also applies to the installation "Solitude" - is an integral part of Neiburga's artistic practice. The interplay of time, sounds and space in her works give them both a cinematic and a theatrical feel. Yes, this is where Neiburga's talent as a cinematographer comes into play. In its form "Topology" is reminiscent of the video installations by Bangladesh-born British artist Runa Islam, but in terms of soulfulness and emotionality it is very similar to the aesthetics of the best New Riga Theatre productions - Katrīna Neiburga's works too are a narration about the longitude of life, however lonely it may be. /Translator into English: Filips Birzulis/ | |
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