Titled "The First Five Years", the exhibition chronicles the period immediately before and during the regaining of Latvia's independence, from 1989 to 1994.
According to curator Diāna Barčevska, this exhibition is not a retrospective or a targeted reflection of past events. This is Jānis Deinat's view of everyday life, details and people, when you could see armored vehicles and soldiers in the streets, as well as signs of the coming changes.
"Especially seeing pictures of tanks in Dome Square [in central Rīga], of course it causes one anxiety and not the best memories. We can already talk about the past, but in reality this exhibition actualizes, if it can be actualized at all, this topical world theme. I think that's the number one theme: about invasions, about occupation, and about the anxiety that comes with it."
Jānis Deinats himself emphasizes how important it is to be interested in our past and to open childhood photo albums from time to time.
"Remembering is an essential element of forming an identity. If we don't remember, in fact, no matter how terrible it is, then we don't care where we live – what country rules over us, what culture. If we are only interested in what is happening to us now , then we don't have an identity. That's why this exhibition has to be looked at slowly. Looking at the pictures, everyone creates their own picture," says the photographer.
The exhibition will open its doors to visitors on August 17, and can be viewed at the Latvian National Museum of Art until November 24.
More information for visitors: https://www.lnmm.lv/en/latvian-national-museum-of-art
