Mountaingorsk
Drawings, 2012
Mountaingorsk is a drawing installation exploring the idea of escape to the mountains. Though the rural lifestyle and landscape are often romanticized by city dwellers, the realities of life in the mountains can be less idyllic. In Canadian director Guy Maddin’s 1992 film Careful, the inhabitants of a remote alpine village live carefully trying not to make too much noise, in case thei voices trigger an avalanche; in more realistic situations, mountain dwellers and climbers are constrained by snow, wind and other natural phenomena. Soviet officials romanticized the idea of the ‘magnetic mountains’ in building the steel city of Magnitogorsk in the 1930s, built quickly with little attention to safety, now one of the world’s most polluted cities. In eastern Europe, many people live in poverty in mountain villages, cut off from modern society; however, in the current economic climate, this could also be seen as protection against the crisis. mountainogorsk explores the tensions between the escapist and the less romantic perceptions of mountains. (L.K.)
Downshifting? Downshifting can be seen as a need to take control over your own life and maintain a safe distance from the pressures of big cities, big business, big agriculture, big government, and so on. This could mean anything from being self-employed to buying your food at the market to moving to the country. Growing up in a giant city and living primarily in a smaller, more isolated city since 2003 has helped me maintain perspective on the important things, like living somewhere where you can bike to a lake in the countryside in fifteen minutes.
Artist's Bio:
Laura Ķeniņš was born in Toronto, has lived and worked in Halifax, Canada, and Budapest, Hungary, and currently lives in Riga. She studied printmaking and photography at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax and has worked primarily with comics and drawing, exhibiting work across Canada and publishing comics in Kuš magazine (Latvia), Don’t Touch Me Comics (Toronto), Matrix Magazine (Montreal), and other Canadian publications. She has worked as an art critic for publications across Canada and curated an exhibition of Baltic comics in Halifax and Vancouver in 2010. (L.K.)