Writing about the exhibition, the photographer says: "The departing point of this project was the life-size image We Are the Revolution (La Rivoluzione siamo Noi, 1972) by the German artist Joseph Beuys."
Silomaki inverts this idea, "following instead an individual who became an object of the inevitable forces of history rather than their master." The aim of the project is "to walk as many steps as was the number of victims in the major political tragedies which made those particular sites historically significant", starting with the murder of the archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg and ending with the World Trade Center in New York. Between these two events, Silomaki has walked tens of millions of steps.
Jari Silomaki (1975) studied at the Aalto University and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The countries where his work has been exhibited include Berlin, Helsinki, Milan, and Budapest, among others. His work focuses on individual and socio-historical narratives.
The exhibition at the Žanis Lipke memorial at Mazā Balasta Dambis 9, will run until June 29. Admission is free. The exhibition is supported by State Culture Capital Foundation (SCCF), Riga State Council, Birzī, "Foto Kvartāls" magazine, and others.
This year, the "Riga Photomonth" festival takes place from May 13 to June 16. This year's theme "Eating Pineapples on the Moon" was inspired by life in the post-truth era. The main part of the exhibition is on display at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. Other events will take place at the Latvian Museum of Photography, ISSP gallery, the Latvian War Museum, the Museum of Architecture, the Latvian Museum of Architecture. The full program can be found on the festival's website.
