Ieva Epnere’s “Traveling Circus at Ogre Museum” and Kristaps Epners’ “Run – Diary” (August 28 – October 3, 2021)
This double exhibition, through various documentary lenses, prompts reflection on the place of both art and the individual in the space of life. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the artist themselves or any of us, who, like a circus acrobat, tries to maintain physical balance on a tightrope and achieve spiritual balance not only physically […]
This double exhibition, through various documentary lenses, prompts reflection on the place of both art and the individual in the space of life. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the artist themselves or any of us, who, like a circus acrobat, tries to maintain physical balance on a tightrope and achieve spiritual balance not only physically but also in the race of life.
The core of Ieva Epnere’s exhibition consists of photographs of the Riga Circus. What happens in the arena resembles a ritual where physical and mental boundaries are challenged with astonishing precision. The circus, with its escape from reality, even for a couple of hours, and its balancing on the edge, has been a source of inspiration for many creative personalities.
The exhibition photographs depict the circus as a world within a world. It’s also associated with family, where continuity and the inheritance of skills are important, passed down from generation to generation by circus artists.
The Riga Circus was closed in 2016, and Ieva Epnere’s photo series suddenly found its conclusion, becoming an encapsulated testimony of an era. The exhibition includes the video work “Charlotte,” created together with actress Guna Zariņa and artist Kirils Ēcis. Its main character is Charlotte Ivanovna, a circus artist and a character from Anton Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard.” She says: “Always alone, I have no one… and who I am, why I am, is unknown…” The prototype for Charlotte’s character is the Latvian magician Johann Strauss (1842–1919). This video work was created at a time when all cultural venues were closed, and it is a message about the place of art in the space of life.
Kristaps Epners, who has been recording his daily training and runs with a video camera and GPS tracker since 2012, has transformed running into a form of artistic expression, believing that there are no limits to artistic forms. Asserting that he doesn’t get lost in unfamiliar places and always finds his way back, the artist encourages reflection on the individual’s place not only within a specific trajectory but also in the overall space of life. It is a story about conscious self-awareness, about time for oneself, and about achieving spiritual balance.
“We consist of many levels and spaces that need to be filled. If they are not filled, discomfort arises, and we break down. It is a matter of harmony,” says Kristaps Epners.
Ieva Epnere lives and works in Riga. She is the laureate of the Purvītis Prize 2019 (for her solo exhibition “Sea of Living Memories” at the contemporary art center “kim?”). She graduated from the Textile Art Department (2001) and the Visual Communication Department (2003) of the Art Academy of Latvia, and completed postgraduate studies at HISK in Ghent, Belgium (2012). She was a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) program artist fellow in Berlin (2019–2020). Her works have been widely exhibited internationally: in solo and group exhibitions at Fogo Island Gallery, Fogo Island, Newfoundland; Art in General, USA; daadgalerie, Germany; Netwerk, Belgium; Kunsthalle Wien, Austria; at the First Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA1) and elsewhere.
Kristaps Epners lives and works in Riga. 2003. He obtained a master’s degree in visual communication from the Art Academy of Latvia. He was a Purvītis Prize finalist twice – in 2017 and 2019. His works have been regularly exhibited in Latvia and internationally, for example, at Flughafen Tempelhof, Germany; Monumental Gallery at Tartu Art House, Estonia; Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art, Denmark; and at the First Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA1).
