NAGU TEMA SEDA NÄEB EVITA GOZE, VIKA EKSTA, KRISTINE MADJARE, DIANA TAMANE 25.02–13.03.2021 Näitus "Nagu tema seda näeb" toob kokku nelja samast põlvkonnast Läti kunstniku teosed, mis kujutavad, õõnestavad ja taasesitavad maskuliinsust fotograafia ja filmimeediumi kaudu. Läbi kunsti- ja fotograafiaajaloo on peamiselt ainult ühel soopoolel olnud privileeg teist vaadelda ja kujutada. See näitus keerab aga objektiivi ümber ning annab hääle neljale naiskunstnikule: Vika Ekstale, Evita Gozele, Kristine Madjarele ja Diana Tamanele. "Nagu tema seda näeb" vaatleb, kuidas maskuliinsust praegusel ajal sotsiaalselt konstrueeritakse, õpetatakse ja esitatakse, mõtestades seda kui voolavat, aja jooksul ning kultuuriti muutuvat ideed, mitte kui kindlat omaduste komplekti. Selline lähenemisviis võimaldab kunstnikel uurida maskuliinsust seisundeis nagu üksindus, abitus, õrnus, lähedus ja kehaline haprus, kuhu tavapärane ettekujutus mehelikkusest ei küüni. Evita Goze fotoseeria "Valvel" (2015–2019) jälgib noori 10–21 aasta vanustele lastele ja noorukitele mõeldud vabatahtlikus noorteorganisatsioonis "Jaunsardze", mida haldab Läti Vabariigi kaitseministeeriumi. Skautlust võib käsitleda kui tänapäevast vastet initsiatsiooniriitusele, kus poisist saab mees, samas täidab see ka romantilist ettekujutust looduses veedetud poisipõlvest. Valides oma tööde tegelasteks noorukid, kes alles õpivad, kuidas olla mees ja sõdur, osutab Goze maskuliinsuse performatiivsele küljele, mis vaatamata sellele, et on asetatud traditsiooniliselt "mehelikku" keskkonda, on rabe ja muutlik. Vika Eksta "P" (2018–2019) on portree kunstniku magavast partnerist perioodil, kui too töötas öises vahetustes. Pildistamine muutus ajapikku ainsaks viisiks, kuidas endiselt tunda lähedust inimesega, kes parasjagu otseseks suhtluseks võimeline ei ole. Fotoseeria juurde kuulub kunstniku päevik, kuhu on kuivas stiilis üles tähendatud P töögraafik, koosveedetud aeg ja tülid, aga ka arutlused üldisematel teemadel nagu töötingimused ning see, kuidas üksikisiku heaolu sõltub suuresti tema päevarutiinist. Kristine Madjare teoses "Varjupaik" (2015–2018) pöörab kunstnik oma pilgu sõltuvustega sõdivatele keskealistele meestele, sotsiaalsele grupile, mis jääb enamasti kahe silma vahele. Madjare loob vaiksete portreede, läbipaistvate maastike ning kummaliste vaikelude abil psühholoogilise portree kohast ja meeleseisundist, seades vaataja silmitsi meeleheite, üleloomuliku pingutuse, lootuse ja lausa tajutava valuga, mis mehi nende tervenemisteekonnal saadab. Diana Tamane on alates 2009. aastast on töötanud teosteseeriaga “Family Project” (“Perekonnaprojekt”). Nagu nimigi viitab, on projektis osalejad Tamane enda pereliikmed, kuid sageli mitte ainult pildis, vaid ka aktiivsete kaasautoritena teoste loomisel. Videoteoses "Andris" (2021, 19 min) suunab Tamane kaamera taas oma perekonnale, seekord sooviga portreteerida isa. Kuigi Tamane isa varem loomi ei sallinud, võttis ta endale paari aasta eest hulkuva kassi ja pani sellele nimeks Masik. Proovides kaameraga tabada õrnusemomente isa ja ta lemmiklooma vahel, kutsub Tamane meid aega maha võtma ning tunnistama puhkehetki ja lihtsaid rituaale, kus pelgalt hingamisest on rohkem kui küll. Osalevate kunstnike tutvustused Evita Goze (1984) on kunstnik, kuraator ja kirjanik, kes elab ja töötab Riias. Loomingus huvitab teda ähmane ala lavastuse ja reaalsuse, isikliku ja poliitilise vahel, fookusega küsimustel identiteedist, kehast ja võimusuhetest üksikisiku ja riigi vahel. Ta on omandanud bakalaureusekraadi fotograafias Brightoni Ülikoolis Inglismaal ja magistrikraadi kommunikatsioonidisainis Läti Kunstiakadeemias. Tema teosed on olnud näitustel ja jõudnud trükki nii Lätis kui ka rahvusvahelisel kunstiskeenel, k.a. ISSP galeriis (Riia, 2019), kaasaegse kunsti festivalil "Survival Kit 11: Being Safe is Scary" (Riia, 2020) ja Läti Rahvuslikus Kunstimuuseumis (2020). Vika Eksta (1987) on kunstnik ja õppejõud, kes kasutab oma töödes fotograafiat, liikuvat pilti ja audiovisuaalseid arhiive. Tema pikaajalistes projektides põimuvad omavahel dokumentatsioon ja väljamõeldis. Eksta on õppinud fotograafiat Andrejs Grantsi stuudios ja Madridi fotograafiakoolis EFTI ning kommunikatsioonidisaini Läti Kunstiakadeemias. Ta on tulnud võitjaks konkursil ADC YOUNG Guns, saanud esimese FK Portfolio preemia ning noore Balti fotograafi preemia Riia Fotograafiabiennaalil. Samuti on Eksta olnud üks Purvītise preemia nominentidest. 2014. aastast osaleb näitustel Lätis ja mujal, näiteks Läti Rahvuslikus Kunstimuuseumis (2020), Kaasaegse Kunsti Keskuses kim? (2019), Alma galeriis (2019), ISSP galeriis (2018) ja Kaunase Fotograafiagaleriis (2017). Tema teoseid on Läti Rahvusliku Kunstimuuseumi ja Läti Fotograafiamuuseumi kogudes ning erakogudes. Kristine Madjare (1987) on Riias elav ja töötav fotograaf, kes omandas erialased teadmised Tartu Kõrgemas Kunstikoolis (praeguses Pallases). Ta töötab dokumentaalfotograafiaga, keskendudes enamasti introvertsetele kogukondadele. Madjare on esinenud mitme isiknäitusega, viimati "Varjupaigaga" festivalil TIFF (Tetno galerii, Wrocław, 2018) ja "Sisemaaga" Läti Fotograafiamuuseumis (2016). Madjare on ka edukas kommertsfotograaf, tehes moefotosid, portreid ning fotoseeriaid ajakirjadele. Tema klientideks on The Blinds, New York Times, models.com, Focus Magazine, Veto Magazine ja Jezga Magazine. Diana Tamane (1986) on sündinud Riias ning elab ja töötab Tartus. Tema foto- ja videoteoste aluseks on isiklikud lood, mis kujunevad tasapisi ja mille tarvis ta kasutab nii enda kui ka oma pereliikmete argiseid kogemusi, muljeid, harjumusi ja meenutusi, neid kokku kogudes ja omavahel liites. Tamane on lõpetanud Tartu Kõrgema Kunstikooli (BA, praeguse Pallase), LUCA Kunstikooli Brüsselis (MA) ja HISKi kaheaastase residentuuriprogrammi Belgias Gentis. Tema esimene kunstnikuraamat "Flower Smuggler", mille avaldas Art Paper Editions (Gent, 2020), nomineeriti Paris-Photo Aperture Foundationi fotoraamatu auhinnale ning pälvis autoriraamatu auhinna Les Rencontres d'Arles. Viimastel aastatel on Tamane pälvinud mitmeid preemiaid ja residentuurivõimalusi nagu Kim? Residency Award (Riia / Tel Aviv, 2019), Riia Fotograafiabiennaali auhind (2018), Outset Eesti: Eesti Fotokunstimessi fond (2017), S.M.A.K.i sõprade preemia (Gent, 2016). 2012. aastast alates on ta esinenud näitustel nii kodu- kui välismaal. Diana Tamane teoseid on Winterthuri fotomuuseumi (Šveits) ja Läti Rahvusliku Kunstimuuseumi kogudes ning erakogudes Euroopas ja Hiinas. Kuraator: Diana Tamane Graafiline disain: Aleksandra Samuļenkova Tõlked: Eva Mustonen, Contra, Kintija Puzāne Toimetajad: Liāna Ivete Beņķe, Anti Saar Tänud: Tatjana Burbo, Riina Gendrikson, Reet Pulk-Piatkowska, Peeter Linnap, Peeter Talvistu, SIA Groglass, Youth Guard and Information Centre of the Republic of Latvia Toetajad: Eesti Kultuurkapital, Valsts kultūrkapitāla fonds, Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture, Kõrgem Kunstikool Pallas AS SHE SEES IT EVITA GOZE, VIKA EKSTA, KRISTINE MADJARE, DIANA TAMANE 25.02 – 13.03.2021 The exhibition As She Sees It brings together the work of four Latvian artists of the same generation – Vika Eksta, Evita Goze, Kristine Madjare and Diana Tamane – imagining, questioning and representing masculinities through the medium of photography and film. For most of the history of art and photography, one sex most often had the privilege of looking at and depicting the other. This exhibition turns the lens around, giving voice to four female artists. As She Sees It considers how masculinity is socially constructed, taught, coded and performed nowadays, viewing it as a fluid idea which changes through times and cultures, rather than a fixed set of attributes. By doing so, the artists explore a much more complex spectrum of understanding masculinity than is stereotypically perceived – including states of loneliness, helplessness, tenderness, intimacy, vulnerability and the fragility of the body. Evita Goze’s series of photographs On Guard (2015–2019) follows the Youth Guard, a voluntary movement for children and young people aged 10 to 21 years, organized by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia. Military education can be looked at as a contemporary initiation ritual for adulthood, and at the same time it satisfies a romantic boyhood dream of going back to nature. By choosing adolescents who are still in the process of learning how to be men and soldiers as the subjects of her work, Goze stresses the performative and unstable nature of masculinity itself within a traditionally masculine environment. Vika Eksta’s work P. (2018–2019) portrays her partner while asleep, during a period when he worked frequent night shifts. The process of photographing turned into a way of keeping in touch with someone who was unable to participate in direct communication at the time. The photographic series is accompanied by the artist's diary – in a dry and poignant way, she follows the work schedule of P., recording their daily activities together and difficulties in communication, as well as reflecting on wider topics such as labor conditions and the dependency of personal wellbeing on a daily routine. Kristine Madjare's Retreat (2015–2018) sees the artist turn her gaze toward an often marginalised social group – middle-aged men fighting various addictions. Through quiet portraits, transparent landscapes and awkward still lives, Madjare creates a psychological portrait of place and state of mind, confronting the viewer with the despair, struggle, hope and almost palpable pain which accompanies their healing journey. Diana Tamane has been developing a body of work called Family Project since 2009. As the title suggests, it focuses on her family members – not just depicting them, but often actively involving them as co-authors. In her new videowork Andris (2021, duration 19’00’') Tamane once again turns the camera toward her family, this time with the aim of portraying her father. Although he used to dislike animals, a few years ago he took in a stray cat named Masik. The artist attempts to capture a certain tenderness evident in the relationship between her father and his pet. In this video, Tamane invites us to slow down and witness moments of rest and simple rituals, where the act of breathing becomes more than enough. Artists bio Evita Goze (1984) is an artist, curator and writer, based in Riga, Latvia. Her practice is driven by her interest in shifting boundaries between reality and fiction, the personal and the political, focusing on questions of identity, the bodily, and power relations between individuals and the state. She received a BA in Photography from the University of Brighton, UK, and an MA in Visual Communication from the Art Academy of Latvia. Her work has been exhibited and published in Latvia and internationally, including at the ISSP Gallery (Riga, 2019), contemporary art festival Survival Kit 11: Being Safe is Scary (Riga, 2020) and the Latvian National Museum of Art (2020). Vika Eksta (1987) is an artist and educator who uses photography, moving image, performance and audiovisual archives in her work. In her long-term projects, Eksta combines the documentary and fictional. She has studied photography at Andrejs Grants' studio and EFTI photography school in Madrid, and obtained an MA in Visual Communication at the Art Academy of Latvia. Vika is the winner of the ADC Young Guns, FK Portfolio and Riga Photography Biennial awards for young Baltic photographers, and has been nominated for the Purvītis Prize. Since 2014, she has participated in exhibitions in Latvia and abroad, including at the Latvian National Museum of Art (2020), kim? Contemporary Art Centre (2019), Gallery Alma (2019), ISSP Gallery (2018), Kaunas Photography Gallery (2017). Her work is held in the collections of the Latvian National Museum of Art, the Latvian Museum of Photography and private collections. Kristine Madjare (1987) is a photographer based in Riga. Madjare has received a BA in Photography from Tartu Art College, Estonia. She works across documentary photography, focusing on introvert communities. Madjare has had several solo exhibitions, including Retreat at the Tetno Gallery during TIFF Festival (Wroclaw, 2018) and Inland at the Latvian Museum of Photography (2016). Her project Retreat received the Riga Photography Biennial Award (2018). Madjare also works as a freelance photographer, mostly working on fashion, portraiture and editorial assignments. Among her clients are The Blinds, New York Times, models.com, Focus Magazine, Veto Magazine and Jezga Magazine. Diana Tamane (1986) was born in Riga, lives and works in Tartu. As a basis for her photographic and video works she uses personal stories that take shape through the collecting and assembling of her own daily experiences, impressions, habits and memories, as well as those of her relatives. She has graduated from Tartu Art College (BA), the LUCA School of Arts, Brussels (MA) and the HISK post-academic residency programme, Ghent, Belgium. In 2020 APE (Art Paper Editions), Ghent, published her first photobook Flower Smuggler, which was nominated for the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards and received the Author’s Book Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles. In recent years Tamane has received the Kim? Residency Award in Artport, Tel Aviv (2019), the Riga Photography Biennial Award (2018), Outset Estonia - Estonian Photographic Art Fair Acquisition Fund (2017), Friends of the S.M.A.K. Prize (2016). Since 2012, she has exhibited nationally and internationally and her work is held in the collections of Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland), the Latvian National Museum of Art and private collections in Europe and China. Curator: Diana Tamane Graphic design: Aleksandra Samuļenkova Translations: Contra, Eva Mustonen, Kintija Puzāne Editing: Liāna Ivete Beņķe, Anti Saar Thanks to: Tatjana Burbo, Riina Gendrikson, Peeter Linnap, Reet Pulk-Piatkowska, Peeter Talvistu, SIA Groglass, Youth Guard and Information Centre of the Republic of Latvia Supported by: Eesti Kultuurkapital, Valsts kultūrkapitāla fonds, Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture, Kõrgem Kunstikool Pallas