The exhibition ‘Beyond Our Bodies Our Beings Extend’ runs at Pilot Gallery (Riharda Vāgnera Street 3, Rīga, Latvia) until January 12, 2025.
Rooted in environmental humanities and intergenerational knowledge, the exhibition emphasises the interdependence between living beings and their surroundings. Our bodies do not exist in isolation; they are continuously shaped by—and, in turn, shape—the ecosystems they inhabit in a dynamic process of mutual influence and transformation.
Using 3D modelling, world-building, archival footage, and filmed material, the artists challenge conventional perceptions of the body as a fixed, isolated entity. From expansive landscapes that capture the vastness of nature to intimate moments that reflect personal experiences, and microscopic realms that uncover hidden natural forces, each work tells a story of our place within the world. Together, these visual narratives invite us to reconsider the body as a fluid extension of the environment—a site of constant interaction between organism and ecosystem.
The concept of the exhibition was created by the artist Sabīne Šnē, and it was developed in collaboration with artists from Latvia and abroad.
Artists: Sofia Lùndari (Italy), MARIA (US), Natasha Viosna Moody (UK), Hannah Morgan (UK), Djuna O’Neill (Ireland), Louis Rizzo Naudi (UK), Sabīne Šnē (Latvia), Agate Tūna (Latvia) and Ella Yolande (UK).
In addition to the gallery exhibition, an online platform extends the conversation beyond visual arts. It features written responses to the works from experts across fields such as environmental law, molecular biology, neuroscience, regenerative agriculture, architecture, and more. These written responses encourage viewers, readers, listeners to see the body not as a boundary, but as a bridge connecting us to the Earth.
Online platform text authors: Martha Aroha, Sophie Carter, Ada Enesco, Pasha Jeremenko & Yasmin L Jones, Emma Foliot, Nina Gonzalez-Park, Toms Majors, EF, Elida Silvey.
Link to the online platform: https://ourbodiesourbeings.mmm.page/
The exhibition is organised as part of the “ACADEMIA” award, which Sabīne Šnē received in 2022. The award was jointly established a year earlier by the Art Academy of Latvia, Helen Scott Lidgett Studio, and ACME to promote the development of young artists’ professional careers. The recipient of the award is provided with a year-long residency in London, followed by access to a studio space in Riga a year later, along with the opportunity to hold an exhibition at the “Pilot” gallery. To reflect the global significance of the theme, Šnē invited like-minded collaborators she met both in Riga and London to participate in the exhibition and together reveal different and diverse facets of the human-Earth-technology trinity.
Curator of the exhibition and online platform: Nastia Svarevska (UK).
Supporters: Art Academy of Latvia, Embassy of Ireland in Latvia.
Special thanks to: Oto Holgers Ozoliņš, Sabīne Vernere, Elīza Muzikante, Marta Viktorija Agruma, Andris Šnē, Sigita Šnē, Jānis Šneiders, Liene Rumpe, Tom Denoon, Erin McIntosh, Misha Svarevsky, Joseph L and Joseph H Rizzo Naudi, Sonji Shah, Eleni Zervou, Lishani Ramanayake, Georgia Somerville, Lindsay Coffman, Kady Fortier, Nikki Dacales.
Exhibition is on view until January 12, Tuesday—Saturday, 12:00—18:00.
Photography: Pietro Molinaris
