Rita Broka – Solo Exhibition “Where did you sit, mommy?” (Sept 30 – Oct 30, 2022)

The various forms of artwork – textile objects, environmental photographs, installations, and collages – depict the landscapes of Ikšķile and Ogre, created using natural dyes and materials sourced from the region.

Undoubtedly, one of the exhibition’s key themes is the imagery generated through the natural dyeing process, highlighting artist Rita Broka’s profound connection to place. By inhabiting a specific area day after day, walking along the same paths, she has become intertwined with both the visible and the intangible, becoming an inseparable part of the environment.

The ideological focus of Rita Broka’s personally significant territory is the Daugava River, whose flow evokes song lyrics, legends, fateful turns, and layers of urban and rural landscape fragments captured on its banks. All of this forms the basis for associative imagery, representing what the artist deems essential and worthy of contemplation.

Alongside themes of belonging and cultural identity, a deeper theme emerges – one that, as events since late February have made abundantly clear, has no historical expiration date. This is the continuation of the folk song alluded to in the exhibition’s title – a story of shared experience, where one can also sense every woman’s concerns for her husband, sons, and ultimately her family amid the upheaval. These are reflections on what has been lost and destroyed, on what was awaited but did not come to pass, and on the readiness to accept the inevitable and endure, as it has been sung, read, and told, but never fully applied to oneself. This part of the exhibition reveals how current events are seen through a fresh, unmediated emotional lens.

According to the artist, naturally sourced fibre is a material most intimately connected to human existence. It is timeless and ever-present. It contains life – resilient, as tough as a blade of grass pushing through cobblestones.