As a basis for my photographic and video works I use autobiographical elements - memory, everyday routines and personal events. The constant measuring of the intimate distances, the exploration of the places where I belong and the questioning of my own identity are the processes that link my existence and my artistic practice. Often I am interested in what is broken or not functional, quiet tensions in the communication between people. I use daily events and inner conflicts as a tool to reflect on contemporary life.
Starting with tiny movements and awkward gestures I am following long roads from the East to the West of Europe and my family members are often the main characters in my work. Sometimes it is my grandmother, who became a smuggler by trying to cross the Latvian/Russian border with two small pots of flowers. Or it is dad, who since mid 90’s makes travels frequently to the West to buy cars, electronics and other items to resell it in Latvia. Or my mom, who became a truck driver after her company went bankrupt several years ago. Often I am using vernacular photography taken by my family members exposing kitsch aesthetics of the working class, whose tastes are generally considered insignificant and worthless by the cultural elite. Through narratives of my family I want to show different social processes and movements of today, creating a portrait of the post-Soviet contemporary society.
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