Turning to the solution of ecological problems in the Baltic region has been delayed for a long time by geopolitical current affairs, social polarization, social inequality and other circumstances. In order to promote understanding of the climate crisis, which is increasingly becoming a political priority, it is necessary not only to face the pressure of global capitalism, but also to be aware of the legacy of colonialism, which is deeply rooted in the history of the Baltic States.
“The need for decolonization processes is becoming more and more evident, especially in the current period of socio-political upheaval marked by the war in Ukraine. Exhibitions Ghosts of the Impossible Present the artists invite us to analyze the connection between the climate disaster and the post-colonial situation, emphasizing that only by encountering the ghosts of the past is it possible to effectively respond to the climate crisis and avoid falling into the traps of the past,” comments Solvita Krese, director of the LLMC, curator of the exhibition, on the idea of the exhibition.
The ghosts of the past are present in the works of Liva Dudareva, in which rock modules created by nuclear tests detonate memory fields and in the context of the current situation act as frightening reminders of the fragility of peace and the possibility of brutal war. Soviet-era rhymes can be felt in the pages of Soviet-era encyclopedias used in Liene Pavlovska’s works, which often promise absurd and unattainable economic achievements. Imprints of the past remain in fossils layered in the rocks and trapped in the urban environment, the essence of which Linda Bolshakova tries to revive using movement and sound. Christina Ollek (Kristina Õllek) studies the ecological processes of the Baltic Sea, paying particular attention to cyanobacterial populations that multiply and bloom annually, causing oxygen depletion and significant environmental problems. Spruce Budvitite (Eglė Budvytytė) in the exhibition focuses on the picturesque landscape of the Curonian dunes, trying to understand whether the characters depicted in her film find it difficult to survive in a dystopian world, or, on the contrary, freed from the traditional binary division between people and other beings, they have found new possibilities for transformation. On the other hand, Elo Rētas Jervas (Elo-Reet Järv) (1939-2018) leather and fossil sculptures, made several decades ago and unusually innovative for their time, seem to break down the boundaries between stone and animal, between human and cyborg, thus allowing us to imagine the possibility of a new way of existence.
The exhibition is organized by the Contemporary Art Center of Latvia in cooperation with a non-profit art organization State of Concept Athens, Estonian Contemporary Art Center and the Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and is supported by the Baltic Culture Foundation, the Embassy of Latvia in Greece, the Embassy of Estonia in Athens and the Estonian Culture Foundation.
Tags: exhibition Diena created Latvian Contemporary Art Center held Athens
