Messages
Each environmental art object features a unique image, message and character, thus bringing diversity to the festival. The works selected for the Message cluster manifest the authors’ conceptual view of events and developments in society, and express their personal and private feelings and reflections. The works feature both quiet contemplation, sparkling humour and irony, witty provocations, and references to historical events and personalities. After the tragedy of Maxima supermarket, one of the artworks, The Christmas Tree of the Wind, which reveals the very sensitive inner world of the artist, has gained a much deeper context and wider resonance in Latvia and the world.
(2018)
The Centenary Christmas Tree at the Latvian National Museum of Art is made of 100 light elements. They are spaced 365 millimetres apart, symbolising 100 years of Latvian Statehood and 365 days of a year. A special control module switches the random LED light colour from white to red. By putting a picture on Instagram, the interactive feature, the viewer triggers a hitherto unseen rhythm of lighting.
(2011)
The sculptural forms and structure of the Coppice reflect the architecture of the planned Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art in the territory of the New Hanza. Although the project of the Contemporary Art Museum is temporarily frozen, the environmental art object serves as a messenger for cultural buildings. The branched structure evokes associations with both contemporary urban architecture and a coppice with young fir trees.
(2017)
In the form of a monumental environmental art object, The Forest People expresses the author’s message of our close connection with nature, and especially the forest. The bond is formed not only in the material world, but also in the intangible – emotional and spiritual dimensions.
(2013)
The poetic Christmas Tree of the Wind invites us to stop and observe the oscillations and lines of motion from different angles, and to submit to elusive sensations and abstractions. In 2013, the then President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš included a sketch of this object in his Christmas greetings. Latvia Post issued a commemorative stamp to the Zolitūde tragedy.
(2013)
Inspired by the artist’s Madonna of Marijas Street, V. Asaris has created his artwork near Padegs’ statue in the Vērmanes Garden as a tribute to the artist, his models and the controversies of his time. (Authors of the monument to Kārlis Padegs – sculptor Andris Vārpa and architect Arno Heinrihsons.)
(2014)
With an ironic twist, the author raises the issue of the massive felling of Christmas trees during the festive season. The Gate of Honour in the form of giant saws invites the viewer to think of possible alternatives to cutting yet another tree.
(2014)
What is your first association with Brussels? The capital of the European Union. Brussels sprouts. Wonderful potato recipes. And the famous pissing boy statue as a historical symbol of the city. The transformation of the pissing boy into the Brussels’ Christmas Tree is a friendly caricature and a greeting to the capital of the European Union. The artwork was created shortly before the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015.
(2012)
An ironic interpretation of the so-called cream of society, the public image of which is very often like a soap bubble. VIP Christmas Tree, accompanied by bodyguards, boasts to be the brightest, fullest, most richly decorated and most expensive Christmas tree in Riga.
(2017)
“All that is not forbidden is allowed” – the meaning of these words is narrowly defined, but it leaves room for imagination. The author cleverly plays with the boundaries between what is allowed and what is forbidden, what is undiscovered, and what remains in our imagination. The Forbidden is a witty reference to the legendary episode of Marilyn Monroe’s flowing dress as she stood above the subway.
(2018)
One’s own personal Christmas feeling is often different from officially promoted stereotypes and ideas on how one should feel during the festive season. With a witty feminine manifesto, the author reminds us not to forget about our personal comfort zone and our own unique Christmas feeling in the midst of the buzzing events and material things.
(2013)
Egle Arhitektu namā Torņa ielā tapusi no arhitektūras studiju laikā gatavotajiem ēku maketiem. Arhitektu egles vēstījums ir simbolisks apkopojums 2013. gadā radītajām idejām, sapņiem un utopijām, kas atspoguļojas visdažādākajos objektos – no skatu torņa līdz pat kvartāla priekšlikumam.The enormous Christmas tree at the House of Architects on Torņu Street is made of mock-ups of buildings produced during architectural studies. The message of the Architects’ Christmas Tree is a symbolic compilation of ideas, dreams and utopias created in 2013, that are reflected in a wide variety of objects, from the watchtower to a project of building blocks.
(2018)
The idea behind this work comes from a common saying heard in male company when referring to the most attractive of women – a fir tree ready for felling! The short and depictive expression is used as a play on words, a metaphor from everyday conversational language. It demonstrates an ironic view of the relationship between the two sexes, verbal as well as non-verbal communication.
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