Līga Spunde’s project “Episodes About Not Knowing” started in 2022 as part of the online programme “A Structure Envisioned For Changing Circumstances” curated by Maija Rudovska. The “Structure Envisioned” embraces the unknown and considers how art workers live and produce work within / around / despite constantly shifting frameworks. It focuses on the collaborations, support, and exchange that can take place across great distances, and allows for connections between different geographical locations, while also drawing attention to the creation of sustainable and long-lasting partnerships amongst artists and institutions.
“Episodes About Not Knowing” originally was designed as a poetic digital artwork divided into several episodes offering thoughts and visions of the future expressed through fictional characters: an adventurous optimist, a weary pessimist, a data analyst, an esotericist and an artist. In 2024, the project was expanded including a new character – a Latvian, who among other characters, is featured in the exhibition at the Southeastern Louisiana University Contemporary Art Gallery. The work emphasizes the lack of stability behind the current conditions in which we live. Meanwhile, the sometimes clichéd nature of the characters, created by Līga Spunde, symbolizes a collective state of mind in times of uncertainty, where we tend to fall back on archetypes, often adopting thoughts and feelings that are stereotypical.
Līga Spunde (Riga, Latvia) makes multimedia installations where personal narratives are closely intertwined with carefully constructed fictions. The interpretation and use of recognizable characters serves as an extension of her personal experiences, while tapping into general truths and accepted tropes. Usually, the content of the work determines the physical form of the conception, so a variety of media, techniques and materials are used in her unique installations. Spunde has participated in various solo and group exhibitions and art projects internationally such as Measures, Survival Kit 15th (2024, Latvian Center for Contemporary Art), Down the Rabbit Hole (2024, MO Museum, Vilnius, LT), Identity Flux (2024, Garage Rotterdam, NL), a panic attack on a sunny day (2023, Tuesday to Friday Gallery, Valencia, ES), When Hell Is Full, the Dead Will Walk the Earth (2019, Kim? Contemporary art center, Riga, LV), among others. Recently, she has participated in the residencies at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea (2024), and International Studio & Curatorial Program, New York, USA (2023).
Maija Rudovska (Latvia) is a curator, art critic, and educator. She holds an MA in art history from the Art Academy of Latvia (2009) and has completed postgraduate studies in curating from Curatorlab in the Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, Sweden (2010). Currently she is a PhD student at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia. She has worked on art projects in Europe and the US, curating exhibitions, for example, at Manifesta biennial (for the 13th edition in Marseille), the Foundation Ricard (both France), Komplot, the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts (both Belgium), Futura (Czechia), the Moderna Museet (Sweden), the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre (Latvia), and elsewhere.
The exhibition is supported by Latvian Culture Capital fund, Southeastern Louisiana University, The Southeastern Louisiana University Contemporary Art Gallery.
Exhibition Installment: RJ Project Studio.
Special thanks to gallery work study students: Madison Davis, Cara Grant, Jolie Gunter, and Sara Torres, and to Gallery Director and Professor Cristina Molina.
Episodes About Not Knowing
Līga Spunde
Curated by Maija Rudovska
The Southeastern Louisiana University Contemporary Art Gallery
October 17 – November 13, 2024
Photography: Līga Spunde
