Riga Biennale of Photography 2024 exhibition “To be, we must understand the river” opened in Sigulda

Also in 2024, the Riga Photography Biennale (RFB) is going outside of Riga – from April 30 to May 31, the exhibition “To be, we must understand the river” can be seen in the cultural center “Siguldas devons”. Three Baltic artists – Mari-Leen Kiipli (EE), Kotryna Ła Kiliulytė (LT), Sabīne Šnė (LV) – and exhibition curator Inga Brūvere (LV) continue the RFB 2024 theme of contemporary identity issues, addressing nature and man as one of its elements.

The location of the exhibition “Lai bhuta, mus zapratsupe” exhibition – Sigulda – is not accidental, because the unique landscapes here with picturesque river panoramas and Devonian rock outcrops – sandstone precipices and caves – have been especially loved by travelers since the romantic times of the 19th century. Unfortunately, in the 21st century to talk about nature is not to enjoy the landscape, not to fight with it, but to talk about climate change, ecology, the insatiable consumption of nature with the help of technology, the false relationship between man and nature, in which Homo sapiens ignores the survival needs of all other species for the sake of their convenience.

Artists Sabīni Šnė, Kotrina Łula Kilulīti and Mari Lēna Kīpli share a view of the web of life in accordance with the current ecofeminist ideas, which call for the hierarchical understanding of species and the dominance of humans to be replaced by solidarity and the awareness that all nature is interdependent and that each smaller unit has its own significance role. In the search for modern spirituality, as in biology, the concept of Gaia, borrowed from classical Greek culture, has become essential. It treats the planet as a single organism and in this time of climate change leads to observe how the evolution of the biosphere and organisms affects global temperature fluctuations, seawater salinity, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and other environmental factors that affect the habitability of the Earth.

Sabine Schne borrowed the title “In order to be, we must understand the river” from the poem “Infinitive” by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is the answer to the questions posed in Sabine’s installation: “What could the Earth look like in the future? Will it continue to be inhabited by both humans and other living organisms? And what can we learn from our neighbors – different living beings and their ways of life?” This time she studied blue mussels, lichens, dung beetles and mycelium. Mari Lēna Kīpli’s video installation is dedicated to a scientist who studies natural anomalies in the vicinity of a paper factory and in the course of her work feels a deep spiritual kinship with the river. On the other hand, Kotrīna Ła Kilulīte sensitively uses video, photography, light and text to show climate change, the processes irreversibly caused by humans on the planet, comparing them to the timelines of a woman’s pregnancy.

on May 18 at At 12.00 in the cultural center “Siguldas devons” there will also be a talk dedicated to the exhibition, and a week before that – on May 11 from 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. – children and young people are invited to participate in the creative workshop together with the artist Līga Spundi. The cultural center “Siguldas devons” is open from Tuesday to Saturday. The exhibition and events can be visited without an entrance fee.

The Riga Photography Biennale (RFB) is an international contemporary art event that focuses on the analysis and artistic representation of visual culture. Photography in the title of the biennale is used as a unifying concept for very different artistic practices of image creation, which in the 21st century. continues to transform the language of contemporary art.

Cooperation partners of the exhibition: State Cultural Capital Fund, Municipality of Sigulda County, Cultural Center “Siguldas Devons”, Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Riga, Lithuanian Cultural Council, Street Level Photoworks, Northern Photographic Centre, Creative Scotland, Hope Scott Trust, “Adverts” printing house, “Rixwell Hotels”, VPT Grupa, Hibnerstudio, Arterritory.com, Echo Gone Wrong, NOBA.