Lenin of Riga
Installation, 2013
Specifically made for the Survival Kit 5 exhibition, and is a result of a brief research into issues surrounding the statue of V.I. Lenin that was located on the Brivibas Bulvaris in the center of Riga from 1950 to 1991. The iconic images of the toppling of the monument on the 25th of August 1991 were spread all around the world as symbolic moment of victory of democracy and freedom. The democracy and freedom that was gained could now perhaps be questioned in the context of the economic crisis, and Latvian participation in NATO and in EU. Less examined is what happened to the notorious symbol itself. My work is a search for the Lenin-statue that many believe has been cut into pieces for bronze-mongers, some others think it has got lost in the whirl of privatization.
(M.H.)
Artist's Bio:
Has worked in many Southeast European cities and has lived in Istanbul for several periods since 2003. She suded at Malmö Art Academy and Rooseum Contemporary Art Centre, Malmö (2006); Fine Arts Academy, Helsinki (2004), University of Brighton (1999). One of the topics in her artistic work has been dynamics and power-positions in art scenes. In 2010 she realized a permanent public artwork in Trabzon, Turkey. She has been working with the issue of nationalism in her artistic work as well as theoretically, in connection to contemporary art, together with sociologist Sezgin Boynik. Currently, with the aim at better understanding the political operations of today, she is interested in exploring history, and its narration, especially regarding the legacy of the Left.