The exhibition runs from 18 January till 17 February 2024 at TUR_telpa, Riga.
Luīze Rukšāne – “Folding Lines”
For her exhibition “Folding Lines” Luīze Rukšāne has merged the space of TUR_telpa with an abstraction of the winter landscapes her grandmother and the many generations of Latvian grandmothers before her might recognize. Around the relative shelter of the home we can imagine the daily ritual of peering out the window to check the conditions of the day: the harsh unrelenting winter cold, frozen ground, leafless birch tree forests disappearing into the haze of a white horizon. Rukšāne has used the every-day action of her grandmother looking out the window as a departure point for her artistic exploration into their relationship. By extension, it reflects on the relationship we all have with the oldest generation and the sense of transience caused by the limitation of passing time.
Her large graphite drawings on canvas are an interpretation of her grandmother’s digital tablet photos sent to the family chat to inform about the daily conditions around her countryside home. The drawings embody the exchange between grandmother and granddaughter. The subject matter might seem trivial, but in them is expressed something more fundamental: the sense of urgency to ask all the important questions before it is too late, to learn the wisdom, but also the source of trauma that lies buried deep. The information passed on from generation to generation, like strands of DNA they are altered a little each time it is passed on, small alterations, little diversions and with every generation, a little of the previous ones is lost. The long banner-like textile works are made with the textiles of an anonymous elderly woman whose diligently maintained bed sheets and tablecloths became redundant after her death. Rukšāne carefully, respectfully, repurposed the textiles and through it explored how something passed down can retain value even when it is altered to satisfy changing circumstances.
Photography: Luīze Rukšāne
