Month: July 2024

Vika Eksta’s exhibition “The Dream of the Sea” is on at the PAiR residency in Pāvilosta, Ernesta Šneidera Square 11, from 29 June to 11 August. It showcases Vika Eksta’s photography and video works, accompanied by compositions from organist Una Cintiņa’s album “Songs of the Sea” and a song by Pāvilosta local Haralds Lukšēvičs. The exhibition is curated by philosopher Helmuts Caune and supported by the VV Foundation.

The PAiR artist residency, founded by the VV Foundation for the support of contemporary art, is located at Ernesta Šneidera Square 11 in Pāvilosta. Each year, visual artists, writers, researchers, curators, and representatives from other cultural fields periodically reside and work there. The residency provides a stimulating environment free of distractions and conducive to cross-disciplinary dialogue, allowing artists to develop individual and collaborative projects.

Photographer and video and performance artist Vika Eksta (1987) spent two separate periods at the residency: in March 2023 and March 2024. Unlike others who often choose to work on themes or subjects geographically more or less remote during their residency at PAiR, Eksta selected the very location itself – Pāvilosta, its people, urban environment, and the conditions dictated by its nature – as the subject for her artistic exploration. The observations made during her two March residencies will be made accessible to both locals and visitors of Pāvilosta on 29 June, when the exhibition “The Dream of the Sea” will open at the residency gallery.

The sea as an element, natural phenomenon, unavoidable presence, symbol and enchantment is a significant motif in the exhibition forming a connection between visual and auditory forms: static frames interact with dynamic sound compositions, inspired by the sea. The fascination with the sea has historically and in modern times been politically, economically, and romantically determined, and such fascination continues to manifest in Pāvilosta. The city, first mentioned in historical records dating back to 1253, may not hold an economic significance as a coastal trading hub today. However, the romanticized or idealized aspect of the sea finds profound expression in Pāvilosta. During the summer season, it becomes the ultimate destination for many inland Latvian residents, each year transforming the place beyond recognition for a few months.

But Pāvilosta exists year-round, and Eksta’s camera has captured it precisely during the “off-season” – a time when hotels and guesthouses are empty, cafes are mostly closed, and locals, with or without dogs, stroll along the beach instead of surfers and vacationers. In Eksta’s exhaustive collection of photographs, three core motifs stand out. First, the sea, the waves, and the coastline in all its harshness and relentlessness, the dunes and pine trees of the Kurzeme coast. Second, the urban environment of Pāvilosta – the beach, the port, and the symmetrical streets where historical and modern, the familiar and the foreign meet in architecture. And third, portraits of people, close-ups of faces, and lasting impressions: locals and visitors who have agreed to step before Eksta’s camera lens, representing a dimension of coastal life that is more real than a dream.

List of the musical pieces used in the video work

From the organist Una Cintina solo album “Songs of the Sea” (2021, Pottamus Productions)

1) “Tu vieni dal mare”, composer Giuliano Bracci (1980), 9 min 56 sec
2) “Ex Mari – Episodes from Georgian Bay: 1. Seagulls Frenzily Shriek”, composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919 – 2008), 1 min 51 sec
3) “Ex Mari – Episodes from Georgian Bay: 1. Autumn Winds Unleashed”, composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919 – 2008), 3 min 53 sec
4) “Three songs of the sea. Tranquillo”, composer Maija Einfelde (1939), 4 min 54 sec
5) “Three songs of the sea. Lento”, composer Maija Einfelde (1939), 3 min 50 sec

The song composed by Pāvilosta native Haralds Lukševics, performed by himself, 3 min 24 sec

Words of gratitude from the artist

I would like to thank all the people who supported the creation of this project and everyone who agreed to be photographed. Special thanks to the PAiR residency and the VV Foundation (Vita Liberte + Vilnis Štrams), Una Cintiņa for the musical inspiration, professor Guntra Aistare, Sintija and her father Raimonds, Elīna Horna, Laila Anna Horna and Mairita Horna, Kristīne Vasule, Haralds Lukševics and his wife, photographer Kristīne Madjare, Aldis Bušs, translator Kintia Rogers, Viskaļi Free Riga team and Mārcis Rubenis, Baiba Prindule-Rence, curator Helmut Caune, my parents Tatjana and Vyacheslav Eksta, as well as the State Culture Capital Foundation.

About Vika Eksta

Vika Eksta is an artist based in Riga, whose artistic practice consistently explores objects, places and motifs, analyzing and closely examining them through the lens of a camera. Her work primarily focuses on personal experience and existential themes such as aging, relationships, gender and social roles. The life and environment of rural Latvia play a significant role in Eksta’s projects. She has received awards such as ADC Young Guns, FK Portfolio, and the Young Baltic Artists Award at the Riga Photography Biennial, and has been nominated for the Purvītis Prize. Since 2014, Eksta has had eleven solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group exhibitions. In addition to her career as an artist, Eksta also works as a photography educator.

About Una Cintina

Una Cintiņa is an organist, conductor, and music director at the Church of Our Lady in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Born in Jūrmala, Latvia, to a family of musicians, Una began her music education in pre-school, singing in folk groups and learning to play the kokle, a traditional Latvian instrument. Una obtained her first academic degree at the Riga Cathedral Choir School in choir singing (1998) and church music (2001) with Vita Kalnciema (organ), followed by Bachelor’s (2005) and Master’s degrees (2007 and 2009) at the Latvian Academy of Music and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under Sigvards Kļava (conducting), Prof. Tālivaldis Deksnis (organ), and Jacques van Oortmerssen (organ). She regularly takes part in New Music festivals, premiering new compositions, working on special projects with representatives of other art forms—actors, dancers, puppet theatre, etc.—and participating as a soloist in concerts with orchestras, choirs, and various chamber music settings.  A significant place in Una’s concert programs is reserved for promoting Latvian music and works by contemporary composers, as well as familiarizing the audience with, in her view, important composers of the 20th century. 

About Helmuts Caune

Helmuts Caune is a philosopher, lecturer and publicist with a long experience in writing, editing and managing cultural events. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in philosophy at the University of Latvia and has also studied philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. His academic, professional and personal interests include philosophy of language, social and political philosophy, history of art, contemporary art, literature, geography and ecology. “The Dream of the Sea” is his first experience as an exhibition curator.